Violations were revealed during the construction of dams near Almaty

In the Almaty region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the authorities are strengthening control over the quality and timing of the construction of important infrastructure facilities. At the initiative of the akim of the region, Marat Sultangaziev, the materials concerning the detected violations during the construction of the Kabandy and Shibut dams have already been sent for additional examination. In the future, these documents will be transferred to law enforcement agencies to conduct a legal assessment of the contractors’ actions.

The basis for such drastic measures was the alarming results of on-site monitoring conducted by deputies of the regional maslikhat. It turned out that the facilities, the construction of which began back in 2022 and which were supposed to provide local farmers with the necessary irrigation water, are currently only 73 percent ready.

Chairman of the regional maslikhat Kuat Baigodzhayev expressed concern about the situation: “The identified shortcomings and problems in construction and installation work lead to a violation of deadlines and a decrease in the quality of construction, which, in turn, negatively affects the effective use of public funds.”

During the inspection trip, the people’s deputies recorded egregious facts. So, at the construction site of the Kabandy dam, the contractor used yellow soil unsuitable for such work. At the same time, only three people worked at the facility and only two pieces of equipment were involved. At the Shibut dam, the inspectors found that there was no fence around the reservoir, the depth of which exceeds 12 meters, which poses a serious security threat.

Despite the revealed problems, the contractor expressed its readiness to take on additional obligations. In particular, the company agreed to carry out a 2,200-meter-long water pipeline to provide drinking water to residents of the village of Shalkode.

All the data collected during the parliamentary monitoring were transferred to the State Architectural and Construction Control Department for detailed analysis. Based on the results of the examination, the materials will be properly processed and sent to the authorized bodies for further measures in accordance with the legislation.

Akim of Almaty region Marat Sultangaziev took a principled position on this issue: “The construction of water infrastructure is a matter of sustainable agriculture and food security. We will not allow inefficient use of budgetary funds. All the facts will be studied in detail, and an appropriate decision will be made on them within the framework of the current legislation.”

Control over the implementation of these important projects for the region will continue until all identified violations are completely eliminated, the press service of the akimat reports.

Original (in Russian): При строительстве плотин под Алматы выявлены нарушения