Kazakhstan implements PPP projects

Effective cooperation between the state and business - 864 projects worth more than 1.5 trillion tenge (US$3.5 billion) are being implemented in Kazakhstan under the public private partnership (PPP) mechanism. Most of them are regional projects and only 10 of them are of national significance. Each of them is aimed at solving issues of social importance, both in separate regions and the state as a whole. For example, take part in filling the shortage of places in kindergartens and schools, improving infrastructure, creating jobs and, overall, reducing the burden on the state budget.

“We have a lot of choices and business areas. If we compare, for example, with European countries, where, to date, a maximum of 30 or 40 projects are signed, that is, are being implemented, we, in turn, have 864 projects. That means that we have one project signed in Kazakhstan almost every day. An average of 200 projects per day. The PPP mechanism is currently applied everywhere,” said Yerbolat Naurzaliyev, Senior Consultant, Kazakhstan Public-Private Partnership Center.

Experts say that the priority sectors for PPP in the country include projects in education, health, as well as energy, housing and utilities, transport and infrastructure. The first area, education, accounts for the majority of 480 projects worth more than 111 billion tenge (US$266.187 million). Health sector is the second in the list. It has 163 projects for a total amount of 80 billion tenge (US$191.8 million), followed by 94 projects in the energy, housing and utilities sector worth 180 billion tenge (US$431.6 million). In terms of the cost of the projects, the transport and infrastructure sector is in the first place with 27 signed contracts worth 844 billion tenge (US$2 billion). The construction of the Big Almaty Ring Road is among the largest projects. This project is at the investment stage, the Kazakhstan Public-Private Partnership Center informed.