BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 14. Kazakhstan has allocated 1.4 billion tenge ($2.9 million) from the Special State Fund to modernize water supply and wastewater infrastructure in the Burabay resort district and Shchuchinsk city.
This was announced in the statement of the government of Kazakhstan.
The funds will be directed to four projects. In the Burabay district, the allocation will support modernization of water pipeline networks serving children's health centers near Lake Katarkol, improving the reliability of utilities during periods of high seasonal demand. In Shchuchinsk, the financing will cover the fourth phase of construction and reconstruction of the main water supply network, repairs to sewage facilities and networks, as well as the installation of intra-block sewage systems.
According to the Kazakh government, the projects will reduce network accident rates and create capacity for connecting new residential, social, and tourism facilities that are currently restricted due to infrastructure limitations. The upgrades are also expected to improve conditions for attracting investment into the region.
The projects are financed through Kazakhstan’s Special State Fund, which accumulates assets returned through anti-corruption and asset recovery proceedings. Since 2024, the fund has approved 610 billion tenge ($1.27 billion) for more than 500 social projects. Of these, 267 projects worth 226.5 billion tenge ($473 million) are related to water infrastructure.
The Burabay allocation comes as Kazakhstan’s water sector increasingly focuses not only on expanding infrastructure but also on improving efficiency, digital monitoring, and sustainable use of water resources. Meanwhile, the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Analytical Department told Trend that modern water management requires combining infrastructure upgrades with digital technologies, professional training, and improved regulation.
"Water conservation is not limited to installing individual sensors or providing one-time training. Data must be transformed into management decisions, technologies into practical skills, and pilot solutions into a foundation for further scaling. This is how digitalization, competencies, infrastructure, and regulation come together into a single business ecosystem," the source said.
According to the EDB, these principles are being tested in Kazakhstan through the bank’s $5.3 million project "Development of a Business Ecosystem for Sustainable Irrigation in Kazakhstan," implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the UN Development Programme.
Trend's analysis shows that the Burabay-Shchuchinsk project differs from Kazakhstan’s other recent water infrastructure allocations financed through the Special State Fund. Unlike projects aimed at connecting previously underserved rural settlements, this initiative focuses on upgrading an existing system where infrastructure capacity has become a constraint on further development. The distinction is important because Burabay is one of Kazakhstan’s main tourism destinations, attracting millions of visitors annually. Water and wastewater capacity therefore directly affects not only residents but also hotels, health centers, recreation facilities, and future investment projects. In this context, utility modernization becomes an economic development tool rather than a purely social infrastructure measure. Expanding water capacity allows tourism businesses to scale operations and reduces infrastructure-related barriers for new projects.
