Olzhas Bektenov on greening and landscaping: Akimats not to limit themselves only to city centre

Measures to improve and greening of cities were considered at the Government session chaired by Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov,El.kz cites primeminister.kz.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction Azamat Beyspekov reported that on behalf of the Head of State has been developed "Standard of integrated urban development", which is a guide to the introduction of compact development and the formation of attractive, comfortable public spaces. 

It was sent to all local executive bodies to be used in the projects of detailed planning of urban areas. At the same time, in order to prevent deviations, a unified town-planning expertise has been introduced since January 2024. It makes it possible to exclude violations of architectural and construction norms already at the planning stage.

In addition, a standard form of the Road Map has been developed for the improvement of cities. It has also been sent to akimats for planning and taking appropriate measures. To date, work in this direction is already underway. 

During the meeting, the akim of Astana Zhenis Kassymbek told about plans to develop new public spaces, including parks and squares, the akim of Aktobe region Askhat Shakharov spoke about the work done in the "Batys-2" microdistrict in Aktobe and the implementation of the relevant road map. 

As Prime Minister noted, the issues of improvement and landscaping of cities are important both for comfortable living of residents and for the development of the tourism sector. At the same time, he pointed out that people every day face various inconveniences: lack of pavements, lighting, green spaces. 

"The main problem of landscaping and gardening is the lack of systematic work on the part of akimats. Trees and plants are planted and then nobody takes care of them. A big problem is the lack of landscaping of public spaces and neighbourhood territories. Parks and squares often look derelict, their annual renewal and arrangement is not carried out. Sometimes there is even construction of facilities in parks," Olzhas Bektenov said. 

At the same time, he noted that the population is very active in addressing these issues. For example, thanks to the public, instead of building a number of objects in the capital, public gardens and recreation areas have been arranged. Thus, instead of an 18-storey building in the area of Nazhimidenov Street it was decided to build a public garden. Mynzhyldyk Alley will also become a new centre of attraction in Astana.

"Akimat needs to continue work on creating new comfortable zones for recreation in the capital, the implementation of a comprehensive system of landscaping. This will allow to "revitalise" large residential quarters of the city," Prime Minister stressed. 

According to him, a similar situation is observed in the city of Almaty, where a favourable environment for citizens is being actively created. For example, the abandoned area on Baiseitova Street has become a park.

"This year the Akimat is to commission 3 new and reconstruct 3 existing park zones. We know that the population is actively opposing point development, densification of historical districts of the city and tree cutting. The opinion of citizens should be taken into account," Head of the Government said.

In general, he emphasised that such issues are often raised in almost all cities of the country. According to Olzhas Bektenov, the development and construction of urban areas should be carried out strictly in accordance with general plans and detailed planning projects. 

"Akimats should work to ensure the principle of "city without suburbs", not to limit themselves to improving only the centre. It is possible to attract businesses and large enterprises to "patronise" public gardens or public spaces. It should be made a good tradition for small businesses to also look after the adjacent territory," the Prime Minister said.

Taking into account the above, Olzhas Bektenov instructed regional Akims to ensure full and quality implementation of the relevant road maps.

"It is important that the cities have become convenient and comfortable for living. Akimats need to look beyond road maps, to solve promptly emerging problems, to listen to the opinion of the population," he pointed out. 

Head of the Government also demanded not to allow the reduction of the green fund of cities, ensuring maximum survival rate of plantings and clear care for them.  

In addition, the ministries of industry, ecology and finance have been instructed to develop legislative amendments to ensure transparency of public procurement of works and services for landscaping.

Subscribe to our Telegram channel and be the first to know the news!