WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017
NATION&CAPITAL
COUNTRY
B4
East Kazakhstan region Akim (Governor) Daniyal Akhmetov (C) is shown visiting one of the region’s medical facilities.
Mangistau region
intends to boost
energy efficiency
By Zhanna Shayakhmetova
ASTANA – Construction of
wind and solar power plants is
underway in an effort to develop
renewable energy sources in the
Mangistau region in 2018, ac-
cording to the regional press ser-
vice.
Two facilities, a five-megawatt
wind farm in Akshukur village
of the Tupkaragan district and a
seven-megawatt solar power plant
in Batyr village of the Munaily
district, will be completed in the
first quarter. A 12-megawatt solar
power plant in Shetpe village is
expected to launch by the end of
the year.
“A desalination plant with a
capacity of 50,000 cubic metres
per day will be built using the
technology of the world’s lead-
ing companies to provide a water
supply to the region. The Caspian
desalination plant will be entering
the second stage of modernisation
to increase productivity by 20,000
cubic metres per day and bring the
total capacity to 40,000 cubic me-
tres per day,” said energy and utili-
ties department head Sapar Aman-
bekov at a Dec. 26 meeting.
Four energy and two water sup-
ply projects are expected to be
implemented from the list of 105
projects presented at EXPO 2017
and approved by the Ministry of
Energy.
A 250-megawatt combined
cycle gas turbine unit will be
launched at the site of the for-
mer Aktau nuclear power plant
as part of the public-private part-
nership. The unit aims to cover
electricity demand and increase
the reliability of the energy sup-
ply at the central heating and
power plant if a high load growth
scenario occurs. The competition
was announced to attract private
investors.
Total utility bill debts in the re-
gion decreased from 2.1 billion to
1.6 billion tenge (US$6.3 million –
$5 million) compared to the same
period last year. Local executive
bodies have recommended moni-
toring heating system functions
in residential buildings and taking
appropriate measures to ensure
timely payment of debts.
Mangistau, better known for its
vast oil and gas onshore and off-
shore reserves, is ranked second
in the local Ease of Doing Busi-
ness list. The 204 projects worth
more 11 billion tenge (US$33 mil-
lion) were subsidised as part of the
Business Road Map. The number
is 1.3 times more than last year’s
figure and nearly 1,400 jobs were
created.
The 47,000 small and medium
businesses showed a growth of
107 percent year on year. The en-
terprises employ approximately
112,000 people, 103.2 percent
more than last year.
Country’s first robot surgery, transplantology
centre to open in Ust-Kamenogorsk in 2018
By Zhanna Shayakhmetova
ASTANA – Kazakhstan’s first
robot surgery and transplantology
centre will open in the first quar-
ter of 2018 in Ust-Kamenogorsk.
The centre is being paid for by the
national government, according to
the regional government’s press
service.
The centre will offer endoscopic
interventions and low-traumatic
and minimally invasive treatments.
The unique facility is located at the
city hospital. More than 60 surger-
ies are carried out annually in the
region and 2,000 of them are con-
ducted at the hospital.
The centre intends to serve up
to 500 patients annually. Surgical
simulation training rooms will be
also opened for students.
“It is necessary to purchase
equipment that will promote qual-
ity treatment of patients. All the
infrastructure needs to be devel-
oped properly too,” said East Ka-
zakhstan region Akim (Governor)
Daniyal Akhmetov.
Medical equipment was pur-
chased as part of the moderni-
sation of medical organisations.
Surgery can be performed with
the help of robotics. A low-trau-
matic method of treatment and
minimal pain after surgery are
the main advantages of this kind
of surgery.
“It is necessary to use warm col-
ours in interior design so that the
building will be cosy and comfort-
able for visitors,” the head of the
region noted.
The centre’s medical person-
nel took part in the training courses
in Germany and Italy. Last year, a
group of specialists in the field of
motherhood and childhood, cardiol-
ogy and oncology studied in the U.K.
“Study abroad is only the first
step of our development. We
should invite the best practicing
specialists to train our doctors here
in the future. Our medicine should
introduce new methods in treat-
ment and develop successfully,”
he said.
A stroke unit is also planned to
open at the centre. Trauma, com-
plex care and rehabilitation beds
and silent access wheelchairs are
already provided.
Internet service providers: parents can
control children’s Internet access
Staff Report
ASTANA – The Internet opens
wide possibilities for children,
however, free access to all web-
sites can pose hazards. While it
is technically impossible to make
sure a child surfs the web safely,
Internet service providers can
block access to sites at the re-
quest of parents, said Vice Min-
ister of Information and Commu-
nications Alan Azhibayev during
the discussion of the draft law
protecting children from harmful
information.
“In April 2016, domestic and
foreign media reported that the
European Parliament intended to
set age limits this year for social
media use. This initiative is impor-
tant for Kazakhstan as well. Parlia-
ment members offered to apply a
similar norm in Kazakhstan. This
initiative was backed by represent-
atives of IT companies, including
Kaspersky Lab,” said Mazhilis
(lower chamber of Parliament)
member Kenes Absatirov.
He added the government pro-
vided an official response to
Mazhilis members on July 1, 2016
and assigned the Ministry of In-
formation and Communications to
study the question.
“One and a-half years have al-
ready passed. Is it possible, given
the high social price paid by chil-
dren involved in suicide sites, be-
ing raped by ‘acquaintances’ from
social networks and so on, to fi-
nally ensure control over access to
social networks for children under
16 in the draft law?” he asked.
Although Azhibayev indicated
it is not yet technically possible
to ensure a safe Internet, he noted
parents can contact telecommuni-
cation operators and restrict ac-
cess on children’s computers and
devices. The corresponding agree-
ment would be concluded with the
operator.
“Each parent can apply to the
operator and ask to connect the
safe Internet to the gadget, where
they will have access to certain
sites. Thus, each parent can show
social responsibility and limit In-
ternet access for their children,
particularly access to social net-
works. This is the way out and we
are working in this direction,” he
said.
Mazhilis Speaker Nurlan Nig-
matulin noted the ministry should
conduct wide information work in
this direction.
“Responsibility should be
mutual and parents should be
responsible, not just letting chil-
dren into society with pockets
filled with telephones and gadg-
ets. There is a need to bring this
information to the whole soci-
ety to ensure that parents and
the public know how to protect
children with the help of those
opportunities which we have,”
he said.
Kazakh motor
pool is aging
Staff Report
ASTANA – Kazakh vehicles are
aging, with the largest share more than
20 years old, according to the 2017 re-
port on vehicle registration dynamics.
Two thirds (66 percent) of ve-
hicles re-registered last year were
more than 10 years old, while the
largest share of registered vehicles
(36.2 percent or 398,152 units) is
more than 20 years old. Vehicles in
the middle, from 11-20 years, rep-
resent 29.4 percent (324,023 units).
By contract, the share of eight-10-
year-old vehicles is 9 percent; four-
seven years, 16.6 percent. Only 7.6
percent of vehicles in the country
are one-three years old. The num-
ber of new vehicles (less than one
year old) is just 1.1 percent, accord-
ing to KazAvtoProm, the nation’s
automobile industry union.
The figures indicate further aging
of the domestic fleet. The share of re-
sale vehicles older than 20 years in the
secondary market increased from 31.5
percent to 36.2 percent, while the share
of those less than a year old decreased
from 2.7 percent to 1.1 percent.
Police registered 1,170,584 ve-
hicles from January-December,
19.2 percent more than 2016, ac-
cording to KazAvtoProm. Of these,
1,100,684 units accounted for sec-
ondary registration, 19.6 percent
higher than the 920,654 units the
previous year. Primary registered
vehicles totaled 69,900 units, 13.7
percent higher than the 2016 figure.
The aging trend is based on several
factors, including the consequences of
national currency devaluation. Despite
the fact the devaluation occurred sev-
eral years ago, Kazakh citizens are not
yet accustomed to prices for new vehi-
cles, which have almost doubled and
sound quite high. Another factor is the
utilisation and registration fee, which
made every new car 1 million tenge
(US$3,000) more expensive than it
was approximately one year ago.
Due to severe climate conditions
and the poor quality of roads in the
remote regions, many Kazakh citi-
zens prefer big cars with four-wheel
drive. Such vehicles, however, have
high price tags. At the same time,
they don’t trust up-to-date turbo en-
gines, computerised transmissions
and CVTs (continuously variable
transmissions) and prefer to buy
used, time-tested models.
Wireless service providers to be prevented
from imposing unnecessary services
Staff Report
ASTANA – The Kazakh Min-
istry of Information and Com-
munications recently announced
plans to change the rules regulat-
ing telecommunication services to
prevent wireless communications
services from imposing unneces-
sary services for users.
“The ministry is making
changes in the rules. We believe
that the amendments are de-
signed to solve many problems
that cellular communication sub-
scribers have faced for a long
time. For example, the new rules
do not allow mobile network op-
erators to render services in the
absence of funds on the balance
sheet, in particular it concerns
roaming services. We will pre-
vent operators from activities
with the negative cash balance,”
said Minister of Information and
Communications Dauren Abayev
in a post on Facebook Jan. 9.
According to the minister, a beep
signal when dialling to the num-
bers transferred from one network
to another will also be eliminated.
Installation of additional acoustic
signals and pauses before the call
signal is now available only at the
request of the subscriber.
“We also introduce a USSD
command or sending SMS to
solve the issue of imposing ad-
ditional communication services.
Accidentally pressing the keypad
while the phone is not in use, ac-
cidentally sending a message or
other actions will not result in the
connection of undesirable servic-
es,” he said.
The full version of the docu-
ment will be published in the me-
dia soon and the regulation will
enter into force within 10 days
after that.
“The mobile operators will have
to introduce a single customer ser-
vice and help desk number with
the introduction of the rules. The
contact number is 116 now. Re-
striction on the distribution of
advertisements at night, except
for information on emergencies
will be introduced. The measures
will not entail additional financial
burdens for operators, and tariff
increases are not expected,” said
Tariff Analysis and Tariff Regu-
lation Department Head Timur
Bailov.
Photo cr
edit: Inform.kz.
Nazarbayev University graduates develop
device to lower cost of electricity delivery
By Dana Omirgazy
ASTANA – Nazarbayev Uni-
versity graduates have developed
a device to extend the working
capacity of transformers, the press
service of the city administration
reported recently.
The project, named Remote
Monitoring of Transformers, im-
plies a cloud system with registered
algorithms on the servers. Accord-
ing to manager and member of the
start-up team Adlet Zaurenbek, data
from transformers will be collected
and processed. The data will be
used to increase the efficiency of
transformers and their life cycle.
The team of young scientists be-
lieve this invention will help moni-
tor, identify and eliminate prob-
lems in the work of transformers.
“The transformer is the same
machine that eventually breaks
down. If the problem is not detect-
ed in time, it will eventually lead
to breakdown. The faster the de-
vice is repaired, the cheaper it will
cost. The efficiency will increase
many times, and it will save a lot
of money,” he explained.
The cost of the transformer
reaches several hundred thousand
dollars. Large power plants own a
huge number of such devices.
“For example, Astana – Re-
gional Electric Grid Company has
about 100,000 transformers, the
cost of each is almost $150,000.
If they increase their life cycle by
five years, this will save billions.
In the future, our system will act
as artificial intelligence,” Zauren-
bek said.
The invention underwent test-
ing experimentally: it figured out
a breakdown and automatically
reported this. “In the course of
the experiment, after eight hours
and 35 minutes with an error of
five minutes, the transformer
burned down, and our experi-
ence was successful,” Zaurenbek
said.
According to him, the research
is applied at the first stage in the
laboratory. The team plans to use
the equipment on real transform-
ers.
The young team worked on the
project for more than a year. The
launch of the device is scheduled
for the summer of 2018.
Snow turns dark in Temirtau,
working group investigates
By Assel Satubaldina
ASTANA – Kazakh officials
are investigating after the snow
in Temirtau city in the Karaganda
region recently turned dark from
what is believed to be emissions
from the city’s numerous industrial
factories. Residents also reported a
specific smell across the city that
feels particularly strong at night
and weekends.
City residents blame the Arce-
lorMittal plant, part of ArcelorMit-
tal Group and a major mining and
metallurgy enterprise in Kazakh-
stan.
The working
group consisting of
representatives of the city and re-
gional administration, prosecutor’s
office, environmental experts, nat-
ural resources department special-
ists and representatives of indus-
tries, has been set up to investigate
the reasons behind an environmen-
tal phenomenon.
Head of the regional Ecology
Department Alibek Bekmukha-
metov said the ArcelorMittal plant
was found to have excessive emis-
sions but that the broader inves-
tigation into the darkening of the
snow continues.
“The department conducted an
inspection at the ArcelorMittal
Temirtau and the results showed
the amount of emissions exceeded
the limits. They also failed to fulfil
the plan of environmental protec-
tion measures. With these viola-
tions in place, the enterprise incurs
an administrative liability totalling
105 million tenge (US$317,100)
and will also have to pay 495 mil-
lion tenge (US$1.49 million) for
the environmental damage. The
warrant was issued obliging it to
rectify the violations,” noted Bek-
mukhametov.
ArcelorMittal representatives
said the company has pledged
$56.4 million to improve its
cleansing equipment in 2017, 2018
and 2019 and that a final solution
is a “long-term project.”
The Karaganda regional admin-
istration requested in April 2017
an inspection of the region’s major
enterprises and biggest suspected
air polluters – the ArcelorMittal
Temirtau, Bassel Group coal-fired
thermal power station and Temir-
tau electrometallurgical plant.