Kazakhstan sets to build numerous seawater desalination plants

In order to solve the problem of potable water in Kazakhstan's Mangystau region, it is planned to build 9 seawater desalination plants with an estimated cost of more than 247 billion Kazakh tenge ($541.4 million), Deputy Chairman of the Kazakh Construction and Housing-Communal Services Affairs Committee Azimbek Pazylbekuly said, Azernews reports via the Kazakh media.

According to him, in 2025, the shortage of drinking water in the Mangystau region may amount to 100,000-110,000 cubic meters per day.

Although water pipelines have been built, there is still not enough potable water, he said.

To resolve this issue, it is planned to implement large projects for the construction of 9 plants with an estimated cost of more than 247 billion Kazakh tenge ($541.4 million), Pazylbekuly said.

"Currently, as part of the budget program of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development, a project is being implemented to expand the capacity of the Caspian Desalination Plant in Aktau to 40,000 cubic meters per day. The project will be completed by the end of this year," the chairman noted.

He added that this year 4.2 billion tenge ($9.2 million) were allocated for the start of projects for the construction of desalination plants in the city of Fort-Shevchenko with a capacity of 5,000 cubic meters per day and 10 billion tenge ($21 million) for the MAEK-Kazatomprom LLP in the city of Aktau with a capacity of 24,000 cubic meters per day.

In addition, this year, at the expense of private investments, it is planned to complete the construction of a desalination plant at the Karazhanbas oil field with a capacity of 17,000 cubic meters per day.