Dam on the Koksu River: contractors are hastily digging canals
As it turned out, while defenders of the Koksu River in Kazakhstan are trying to identify potential risks to nature from the construction of a cascade of Mine HPPs, the project contractors are zealously digging canals:
On Sunday, January 26, a large delegation of civil activists, officials, bloggers and journalists, despite the cold weather, arrived at the construction site of two small hydroelectric power stations near the village of Rudnichny in the Zhetysu region. The contractor, Energobildservice LLP— installed billboards advertising his project in the fresh air and once again told the audience about the advantages of the new HPPs.
— In general, it is 12 km from the head HPP to the second one. We are building a cascade of two hydroelectric power plants. The total capacity is 42 MW. We can illuminate a city with 120 thousand inhabitants. We have passed the state examination and have all the permits. We have a website where you can view all the documents. There are no Red Book animals and plants on the site where we are building. Residents of nearby villages do not mind, they all agree. There are no crops and agricultural lands on the 12 km where we are building,” said Ali Karabalin, project manager.
Rinat Khamzin, an eco-activist from Eskeldinsky district, noted with surprise the scale and speed of construction.
— I am surprised at the pace at which they are building. I was there last month, and now a lot of work has been done here. Deep bypass channels have been dug to turn the riverbed. The work here is in full swing, no one will stop this work,” Rinat Khamzin believes.
But the president of the Rafting Federation of the Republic of Kazakhstan Konstantin O, it seems, continues to harbor illusions and even offers contractors to conclude a memorandum of cooperation with the public and find another place for their hydroelectric power plants.
— Let’s look for another place. Maybe you will spend time and a little more money, but you will not ruin a unique place. Sowing will begin soon, and farmers may not have enough water. The Koksu River feeds groundwater, including under the territory of the Altyn-Emel National Park. All this will eventually affect tourism, water sports and nature in general,” Konstantin O. repeats tirelessly.
According to the specialists of the Department of Ecology of the Zhetysu region, they gave an opinion only on the hydroelectric power plant construction project, but they are not authorized to assess the impact of new facilities on nature.
— We consider it necessary to attract independent scientific experts and conduct a scientific examination. Additional financial resources should be allocated for this,” the Department of Ecology of the region noted.
Meanwhile, some residents of nearby villages are very skeptical about the attempts of the public to somehow influence the situation and even reverse it. As the locals told us, the reason is the copper–gold rush, which is approaching the most beautiful mountains on the banks of the Koksu River.
According to rumors, gold and copper have been found here, and soon mining and processing plants for the production of copper and gold will be built in these places. And hydroelectric power plants are needed to start production. Project manager Ali Karabalin confirmed that factories will indeed be opened in these places soon. He did not specify which ones, but added that billions of taxes would be paid to the local budget.
Aliya Akhmedieva (Ratel.kz )
