The fifth time zone geographically covers most of the country's territory. Olzhas Bektenov instructed MIT and MKI to conduct a more understandable information and explanatory campaign
At a Government meeting, Minister of Trade and Integration Arman Shakkaliyev reported on the advantages of Kazakhstan's transition to the 5th time zone.
The Minister noted that when making the decision, scientifically based arguments were used, reflected in the report of a specially created Interdepartmental Working Group on the procedure for calculating time, which included members of Parliament, representatives of state and local authorities, scientists, experts, institutes and public associations. The International Alliance of Supporters of Natural Time (IANT) gave a positive opinion on the Government's decision to establish the UTC+5 time zone for the central and eastern regions of Kazakhstan, which corresponds to geographical longitude and is the optimal solution for the population.
"The history of the formation of the time calculation system in Kazakhstan shows that the previous UTC+6 time zone was first introduced in 1930-1931 by using decree, that is, "ordered" time ("time zone plus one hour"). Despite the fact that most of the territory is located in the 5th time zone. In general, during the Soviet period in Kazakhstan, the natural time zone was changed 8 times by order in the interests of a command-planned economy. As a result, Kazakhstan lived in time zones that did not correspond to the natural cycle. Thus, UTC+5 is not a new time zone or an experiment for our country, it is actually a return to historically justified time," Arman Shakkaliev noted.
The time zone covers the longitude from 67.5 to 82.5 degrees, including the cities of Astana, Almaty, Petropavlovsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Shymkent, Semey and Pavlodar, where more than 76% of the country's population (15 million 240 thousand people) falls. Today, 117 countries out of 195 have opted for a geographical time as close as possible to the standard time zone, since human circadian rhythms are synchronized with the natural cycle of daylight. Thus, the decision to change the time zone is scientifically sound and economically feasible, the minister stressed.
The Prime Minister noted that the Minister of Trade and Integration had given all the exhaustive arguments in favor of the current time zone.
"The government supports this decision. Most of the country's territory is located in the 5th time zone, so from a scientific point of view this is the right decision. I instruct the Ministries of Trade and Information to conduct a more understandable information and explanatory campaign," Olzhas Bektenov stressed.
Source: https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/mti-dolozhilo-o-preimushchestvakh-edinogo-chasovogo-poyasa-pravitelstvo-podderzhivaet-utc5-29342

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mti/press/news/details/885829