Kazakhstan plans to build 4 new water reservoirs in 2025

ASTANA. March 4 (Interfax) - The construction of four new reservoirs in three regions of Kazakhstan will begin in 2025, Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov said at a government meeting on Tuesday.

Among them, two reservoirs in the Zhambyl region and one in the Kyzylorda region are intended to address water shortages during the growing season for newly introduced irrigation areas covering 22,500 hectares.

It is planned that the construction of the fourth reservoir in the West Kazakhstan region will retain flood and meltwater, preventing the risk of flooding in two settlements with a total population of around 5,000 people.

The reconstruction of two reservoirs in the Zhambyl region, a reservoir and the Koksaray counter-regulator in the Turkestan region is also planned, Nurzhigitov said.

Last year, the ministry adopted two strategically important documents, he said. These were the concept for developing the Water Resource Management System in 2024-2030 and the comprehensive plan for developing water management in 2024-2028. As part of the plan, 42 reservoirs will be constructed, and 37 hydraulic structures and 14,000 km of irrigation canals will be reconstructed.