On the instructions of the Head of State, conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses are being created in the regions. One of such projects is being implemented in Kostanay — the construction of a small industrial zone has begun on the territory of the Bolshevichka LLC enterprise.The reconstruction progress was inspected by the Akim of the Kostanay region Kumar Aksakalov. He noted that such projects are important both in terms of employment and in terms of the industrial growth of the region.— Large production areas have been idle here for many years. Now they are getting a new life, — the Akim emphasized. — New workshops, jobs and business opportunities are appearing on the site of former unused facilities.An investment project for the reconstruction of furniture and sewing workshops is being implemented at the site. The total investment is 5.5 billion tenge. The project is being implemented by Bestex LLC. Upon completion of the work, it is planned to produce up to 200 thousand products per year and create 150 jobs.Small industrial zones are specially prepared sites with engineering infrastructure and preferential terms for small and medium businesses.In the future, the industrial zone will house enterprises producing furniture, windows, garments, printing, paper, bulletproof vests and other types of products.In addition, it is also planned to develop educational and social infrastructure here, including the creation of the Institute of Fashion and Design and the construction of a student campus.“We see how business is capable of not only developing production, but also investing in human capital. This is a good example of an integrated approach,” noted Kumar Aksakalov.We will add that 36 college students are already undergoing internships at the enterprise as part of dual training, 24 of them in a targeted direction.The creation of small industrial zones is part of the industrialization and economic growth strategy. Such projects help reduce dependence on imports, expand employment and increase the share of SMEs in the region's economy.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1041841?lang=kk

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Shymkent on the move: how the city is rebuilding its transport system Shymkent is one of the fastest growing cities in Kazakhstan, and the transport infrastructure here has long required adaptation to new realities. Population growth, an increase in the number of cars and the expansion of the urban area pose the task for the authorities - to transform disparate road sections into a single and sustainable system. A comprehensive program to upgrade the transport infrastructure was launched in the metropolis in 2024. It covers not only the construction of roads and interchanges, but also the modernization of stops, safety systems and lighting. Scale: from streets to highways According to official data, by the end of 2024, 75% of city roads were already in good or satisfactory condition. In 2025, it is planned to increase this figure to 90%. The main efforts are aimed at developing connectivity and reducing the load on central streets. Among the major projects is the construction of railway crossings on Momynova and Tlenshina streets in the Yenbekshinsky district. They will connect the eastern part of the city with the center, which will redistribute traffic flows and reduce congestion on existing highways. Construction on Momynova started in December 2024 and is already half complete. At the same time, major repairs are underway on the emergency bridge at the intersection of Koikeldi Batyr and Aknazar Khan streets. The work will be completed by the end of 2025. One of the most ambitious projects was the extension of Kunayev Avenue. The total length of the route is 16.3 km, the work is divided into six stages. Some sections have already been completed, two more are planned to be completed by the end of the year, and the final stage - in 2026. The new avenue should become an alternative to the busy Respubliki Avenue and relieve traffic on the way out of the city. The reconstruction of the A-2 bypass road is also actively underway. This 28.2 km long transit corridor connects Shymkent with other regions of the country and plays a key role in cargo transportation. The first four stages have already been completed, and three more are planned for completion in 2025. The last stage will be completed in 2026. Part of the strategy also includes the construction of new connecting streets: the extension of Kaziyev Street (1.7 km) will provide an alternative exit from the northern microdistricts of Akzhayik and ShymCity. By 2026, the authorities intend to completely pave 850 streets with a total length of over 1,000 km. Of these, 540 streets will be paved this year. Focus on safety: from pedestrians to lighting Along with road construction, efforts to ensure road safety are being stepped up. In 2025, 32 new traffic lights will appear in the city, 10 of which have already been installed. Unregulated pedestrian crossings are another weak link in the system. Currently, more than 140 of the planned 200 points are illuminated. Work is also underway to install 6,000 road signs (half of which have already been installed), to install speed bumps near schools (1,200 meters), and to renew sidewalks — 180 km have already been put in order. Additionally, the markings on 500 km of streets have been updated, and new irrigation channels have been installed in flood zones (30 streets). The street lighting program covers 2,743 streets, of which 1,550 are already equipped with lamps.

To date, 67,949 small and medium–sized businesses operate in the region, employing 164.3 thousand employees, which is 3.2% more than last year (April 1, 2024 - 159.2 thousand people).The output of SMEs in the 1st quarter of this year also increased by 15.5% and amounted to 515.9 billion tenge (April 1, 2024 – 446.7 billion tenge).In general, more than 30% of the region's economy is provided by small and medium–sized businesses (the share of SMEs in the gross regional product is 30.2%).The positive dynamics of these indicators is greatly facilitated by the implementation of state support measures. Thus, within the framework of the Comprehensive Entrepreneurship Development Program for the 1st half of this year, 135 business projects for a total amount of loans of 15.9 billion tenge were provided with preferential lending conditions due to government subsidization of part of the interest rate and the provision of guarantees by Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund JSC and a special Guarantee fund to cover the shortage of collateral. Projects implemented in rural areas account for 26%.In addition, work is underway to provide enterprises, including those located in the Industrial Zone in Kostanay, with the missing engineering and communication infrastructure. To date, 7 such projects are being implemented with a total cost of 486.3 million tenge, including in the Dzhangelda, Kostanay and Mendykara districts.In order to develop entrepreneurial potential in regions remote from the regional center, the Business-Komek Regional Lending Program was launched in 2023 at 1% per annum, which has no analogues among all government support tools. To date, the total amount of financing has been fully utilized: 37 loans totaling 1.5 billion tenge have been approved. Most of the loans are aimed at the development of animal husbandry.              In addition, financial institutions also implement their own business support programs. For example, for entrepreneurs of the single-industry towns of Lisakovsk, Zhitikara and Rudny, Halyk Bank launched a program of preferential loans in the amount of up to 50 million tenge at 10% per annum for investments and working capital for up to 5 years in the manufacturing industry (excluding production of tobacco products).In turn, the Damu Foundation has launched the implementation of the Orleu program, which provides loans to entrepreneurs in priority sectors of the economy in the amount of up to 7 billion tenge for up to 10 years with a remuneration rate of 12.6% per annum. Applications are accepted by Bank CenterCredit JSC, Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan JSC, Freedom bank JSC, ForteBank JSC and Nurbank JSC.In addition, work is underway in the region to create small industrial zones. Two projects are being implemented – the construction of a Localization center for the production of automotive components (on the territory of the Industrial Zone in Kostanay) and the reconstruction of the sewing workshops of the Bolshevichka factory. These projects involve the placement of small businesses on prepared and equipped with the necessary communications facilities on preferential rental terms.Much attention is paid to the development of social entrepreneurship. Currently, 66 representatives from our region are on the Register of Social Entrepreneurs. This category of entrepreneurs is given the opportunity to participate in the competition for grants up to 5 million tenge, subject to the social orientation of the business. The competition is scheduled for September of this year.At the same time, various non-financial support measures implemented by the Chamber of Entrepreneurs of Kostanay region covered about 1,500 business entities and individuals with entrepreneurial initiatives in the first half of this year.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1040858?lang=kk

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Astana, July 24, 2025 – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Arman Issetov held a meeting with the Ambassador of Hungary to Kazakhstan Otto Iván Róna.During the talks, the sides discussed the current state and prospects for the development of Kazakh-Hungarian cooperation, placing particular emphasis on strengthening the political dialogue, expanding trade and economic ties, enhancing cooperation in transport, education, and culture, as well as on the practical implementation of the agreements reached during reciprocal visits.Deputy Minister Issetov emphasized that Kazakhstan sincerely values its strategic partnership with Hungary, a close and reliable EU partner. “The relations between Astana and Budapest are characterized by a high level of trust-based political dialogue, and the peoples of the two countries are united by common historical and cultural roots” the Kazakh diplomat noted.Priority attention was given to preparations for upcoming high-level bilateral events.At the end of the meeting, the Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister thanked the Hungarian Ambassador for his active efforts in promoting bilateral relations and voiced confidence in the continued strengthening of cooperation between the two countries.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mfa/press/news/details/1040125?lang=kk

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The forests of our region are of great ecological, climatic, economic and social importance.The Akimat of Kostanay region manages 462.0 thousand hectares of the state forest fund, including the forested area of 207.5 thousand hectares. Over the past 3 years, the total area of the state forest fund has been increased by 4.3 thousand hectares (from 457,718 hectares to 462,009 hectares), due to the transfer of reserve lands to the lands of the forest fund for logging operations.There are 6,188 hectares in the category of lands of the state forest fund "green zones of settlements and health facilities" around Kostanay, including 4,502 hectares covered with forest.During the period 2021-2024, 55.4 million seedlings were planted on the plots of the forest fund on an area of 8.7 thousand hectares, as part of the implementation of the Comprehensive Forest Reproduction Plan for 2021-2027. The planting plan for 2025 is 19.2 million seedlings on an area of 2.9 thousand hectares. In the spring of this year, 14.5 million seedlings were planted on an area of 2.9 thousand hectares. In autumn, it is planned to plant 4.7 million seedlings on an area of 0.8 thousand hectares.Work continues to eliminate the consequences of a large forest fire in 2022 in the territory of the Auliekolsky district. During the period from November 2022 to July 2025, logging was carried out on 61.7% of the area, and 34.8% of the forested area covered by the fire was also developed.In total, 2.9 million pine seedlings on 432 hectares were planted on the area of Gary. The natural renewal of the forest is also recorded: green shoots of birch and aspen have appeared, and self-seeding of pine is observed everywhere.Work on the reproduction of forests in the forest fund areas continues in order to increase the forested area of the forest fund, as well as increase the forest cover of the region.Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1037701?lang=kk

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KIA'S PLANT IN KOSTANAY IS READY TO START: KIA CORPORATION EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ARRIVES FOR INSPECTIONThe new KIA automobile plant is one of the largest industrial projects in Kazakhstan, the largest construction site in the history of domestic engineering.Today, the Kostanay KIA plant has passed an important final control point. The company was specially visited today by Executive Vice President of KIA Corporation Jong Junchul, who oversees all production facilities of the company worldwide.The visit of the first executive Vice president of KIA Corporation to Kostanay region emphasized the importance of this stage: he personally checked the readiness of the enterprise.The plant was built in record time: construction began in the fall of 2023. KIA Corporation has financed 117 billion tenge into the plant, which makes it one of the largest investments of foreign capital outside South Korea in the automotive industry. The total investment in the project amounted to 131.5 billion tenge."This is the largest foreign production in the history of the region. Thanks to the support of the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the well—coordinated work of all structures, the plant was built in just one and a half years," said Akim of Kostanay region Kumar Aksakalov.At the state level, the project was provided with a complete infrastructure: roads, railway tracks, networks.The launch of a new production facility is not only large-scale in terms of investments, but also in terms of social impact. Over 1,500 jobs are being created at the first stage. This is the largest simultaneous job creation project, which will significantly strengthen the labor market in the region and open up new prospects for young Kostanay residents.Additionally, a Localization center is being built near the car factory, which will provide employment for another 800 people. The localization center will produce seats, mufflers and plastic parts.It is noteworthy that many processes at the new plant are automated and robotic.The plant is equipped with advanced automated lines, which makes it one of the most modern in the region. 67 robots are already involved.Personnel training for such high-tech production was conducted jointly with the Korean Dong-Eui University and the local regional university named after A.Baitursynov, as well as colleges, which allowed us to create a team of professionals already at the launch stage. The emphasis is on local personnel."When we were considering where to invest in Central Asia, our choice fell on Kazakhstan, a country located in the heart of Eurasia. This is an important and strategically significant project for KIA," said Mr. Jong Jooncheol, Executive Vice President of KIA Corporation. - Thanks to the strong support from the Kazakh side, especially in terms of infrastructure - not only the plant, but also the localization center - we were able to implement the project on time.We are currently working to resolve the issues of selecting suppliers of automotive components so that key parts can be produced directly here in Kazakhstan. We are confident in the future of this project and intend to develop a long-term partnership with Kazakhstan and Kostanay region. I would like to express my special gratitude for the professionalism of the local staff — we are really impressed by the level of training of Kostanay specialists."Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1037237?lang=kk