Kazakhstan's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection has announced stricter safety controls at construction sites in Astana following recent tower crane collapses that killed two people, reports infohub.kz.
According to the ministry, the decision was made after a meeting with representatives of state bodies and the construction industry. First Vice Minister of Labor Yerbol Tuyakbayev stressed that safety issues at construction sites have been raised repeatedly, and developers were warned in advance against a formal approach to labor protection, given time to eliminate identified violations.
"We warned developers, gave them time to fix violations, and carried out preventive work. But if someone decided that safety requirements can be ignored, they are mistaken. No one will escape responsibility," said Yerbol Tuyakbayev.
As part of the enhanced measures, the State Labor Inspection Committee has been tasked with initiating unscheduled inspections of construction sites in accordance with the law. If violations are found, materials will be sent to competent authorities for legal action. Special attention will be paid to organizations where accidents and violations recur: inspectors will need to determine whether the causes and violations identified in previous investigations have been fully eliminated.
Recall that on August 27, a construction crane collapsed at a construction site in Astana, killing the crane operator. On August 31, another tower crane fall occurred during the construction of a residential complex, killing one person and injuring two others. Criminal cases have been opened into both incidents, and investigations are underway.