In the Rauan-2 district of Aktobe, the water pipeline is 95% complete, yet residents still rely on delivered water. An additional 796 million tenge is needed to finish the work, reports infohub.kz.
Residents of the Rauan-2 district in Aktobe have been waiting for central water supply for more than ten years. Despite laid pipes and connections to houses, water still does not flow from taps. The district began to be actively built up after land plots were allocated to those on the waiting list. Currently, there are over a thousand houses. They have electricity and gas, but water still has to be brought from the city.
“Canisters are a mandatory attribute in every home in the Rauan district. Every day, a family uses up to 200 liters of water, and that's just for household needs. And with the onset of cold weather, water is also used for heating. So, without a constant supply, it's impossible,” the publication says.
This summer, residents had hope: pipeline construction began in the area. People were promised that water would appear in their homes by the end of summer. But the deadlines passed, and daily life remained unchanged.
“I think there's no need to explain how essential water is. Every day I wash dishes, do laundry, and wash myself. We bring water. Soon the rains will start, the roads will be washed out, and we won't even be able to drive to get water. We live in the 21st century, but it feels like the 19th. We wash our hands from a jug, while living in a city. Many don't want to move here precisely because there's no water,” says Aktobe resident Zada Mizambayeva.
“The water line was installed, and connections were made to each house. For example, my house is completely ready, but there's no water. First they promised to launch it in August, then in September. It's already mid-October, and we still have no water,” says Aktobe resident Serik Mektepov.
The city construction department said: work on water supply for the Rauan-2 district started in spring last year. Now the pipeline is 95% complete — intra-block and main networks have been laid, and a reservoir has been built. But at the final stage, funding fell short.
“This project is financed from the regional budget, the total cost of the project is 2.3 billion tenge. To complete it, we need 796 million tenge from the regional budget. Completion of construction was planned as funds became available,” emphasized Aksunkar Kuldunbayev, head of the sector of the construction department of the Aktobe city akimat.
According to officials, the funds needed to complete the work are regularly requested from the regional budget. But there has been no response to the requests yet. And when water will flow from the taps for Rauan-2 residents is not exactly known.