Good
evening, thank you for today's meeting with
you. As a first question I would like to get
to an overview of Kazakhstani economy and,
of course, your vision of the future of transport
and communications sector.
It is worldwide known that our country
within the last three years has been dynamically
developing. Their domestic balance has increased
from 9 up to 11%. I'm glad to say that all
the branches of the economy are being successfully
developed and it's naturally that the transport
sector is not exclusion: it is also successfully
developing. And in the year 2000 the ratio
of transport in GDP increased up to 9%,
and notice it is even above 9%. As you know
economy directly depends on the transport
and communications. Whole Kazakhstan depends
upon the development of transport sector.
You should take into account that we have
a big territory, long distances to cover.
The priority of developing transport sector
is railway. We have more than 15 thousand
kilometers of rail lines. All the regions
of Kazakhstan are connected through the
railway lines. Everyday trunk lines make
more than 500 thousands tons of cargo. We
even transport oil by the railroads. That's
why the government pays a big attention
to the development of this sector and we
have a program on the reforming railway
sector. It foresees liberalization, establishing
of private sector. In this respect we take
as an example the North America and the
European models of railway companies development.
The program includes accumulation of the
main trunk lines in the government fund,
at least partially. The reform will give
us an opportunity to create private companies
with their own rolling stock.
They will allow getting an access to infrastructure
and they will participate in the development
of the railway sector. Today there are many
enterprises, which ensure development of
the railway transport; they gradually have
become the private companies. We have created
Joint Stock Company and Limited Liability
Partnerships on their basis. In the nearest
2-3 years our investment program foresees
to attract around $1 mln. to this branch.
In this respect we heavily rely on cooperation
with the international financial institutions
and banks. We have been negotiating with
many of them for a long time: International
Bank of Development, EBRD, Chinese Bank,
American Eximbank. Taken into account the
vastness of our territory, long distances,
the next priority in transport development
of Kazakhstan is highways sector.
Within the last years the government has
drastically increased investments in the
road reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Only in this year we have spent $275 mln.
on reconstruction and refurbishment of roads;
it is 40% more than in the last year. We
pursue a very active policy on ensuring
transits via our territory: by the railway,
motorway and airlines. We have 6 corridors,
which we use for transportation of cargoes
and by the year 2010 these corridors will
ensure the transportation from the South
to the North, from the East to the West.
These corridors, hopefully, will be completed
totally.
The international financial institutions
are involved in project implementation:
the International Bank of Reconstruction
and Development, EBRD, ABRD, Islamic Development
Bank, Japanese Bank of Cooperation. All
of them participate in different projects
concerning our sector. Within the last three
years we have attracted $850 mln. of investments
through these institutions. Our country
is of great interest to other countries
from the air itinerary ways' point of view.
Through the air itineraries and through
the air space of Kazakhstan 4 transport
corridors pass: from the South to West,
South East - North West, West - East. In
this relation the Kazakhstani government
is developing a program, by the end of this
year it will be accepted and approved by
the government on development of civil aviation.
We foresee the reconstruction of our airports
to ensure transits across our country. For
us it will be profitable. I can state what
airports are going to be reconstructed in
the nearest 3-4 years. They will meet the
western requirements to the construction.
These are: airports in Atyrau, Aktau, Aktobe,
Zhezkazgan and Chymkent. They are located
on the way of these transport corridors.
And we account that every year we will be
able to make up to $70-80 mln. through these
itineraries for transit services. We have
the only one marine port in Kazakhstan.
It is in a Caspian region. Through this
seaport we ensure marine shipments to Russia,
Azerbaijan, Iran, I mean to the northern
part of Iran through the Caspian Sea. In
the future the cooperation with Iran hopefully
will help us to go through the Iran territory
to the Persian Gulf in order to get an access
to the world market. Aktau port from the
1st January of the year 2000 was declared
as the free economic zone. It has already
attracted huge investments. Today we have
a line of investors who would like to get
a piece of land in Aktau port to build their
own docks. This port will be able to ensure
transportation of oil, metals and, especially,
grain to the world market.
I would like to know a bit more about the
liberalization and privatization. Could
you, please, highlight these processes and
tell us whether you are satisfied with their
results or not.
It depends, of course. We had a program,
which was sensitive to the drastic changes
of the environment, especially in the railroad
sector. But we have reconsidered this plan
and made a program more pragmatic and practical.
In this case we rely on the world experience.
Today we have no country in the world with
absolutely effective system of private sector
successfully operating in railway sector.
Due to its specific, railway transport was
periodically privatized, for example, in
Germany, Great Britain. Since the governments
managed these countries, the goals of private
companies contradicted to government interests.
We have many cases when the same countries
had to nationalize their private railway
companies again. That's why we should take
into account all these world experiences.
We also have decided it should be a stage-by-stage
program of development and restructuring
the railway sector. Besides, we have to
take into consideration the social impact
of this restructuring process.
As for aviation, we are long ahead of the
other countries in respect of liberalization
process. We have more than 500 private companies
in this area. But, unfortunately, these companies
do not meet safety requirements. Now we are
trying to optimize the number of private air
companies: to make them fewer but so that
they would meet the world standards and requirements.
That's why we take into account our experience
of the civil aviation in all the spheres of
our telecommunication complex. We shall be
more pragmatic, develop it in stage-by-stage
and practical steps. Naturally, our purpose
is to create competition within this sector.
The monopoly ownership may lead us to stagnation.
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For the private
companies the railway sector as well as the
reconstruction of new sea properties and objects
will be interesting. We have several projects
to construct new railway lines. Now we are
negotiating with some western companies about
the system "BOARD" (financing of
processes from constructing up to commissioning
of dig places). By the end of this year we
expect the Law on Concessions to be approved
by the Kazakhstani government and in this
respect the investors might come to Republic
and start their projects. Our legislation
allows transit of private automobiles into
the country. It is a very prospective field
of investments.
I would like to ask you about the projects.
You have mentioned already the new ports
in Aktau, Atyrau. It would be interesting
to know something about the programs, those
starting from 1998 up to 2005 about the
development of infrastructure. Could you
elaborate it to our readers?
We have projects conducted by TACIS line,
which have been implemented already and
we have different international programs,
such as the Silk Road Project, South - North
Corridor, which is very actual to us today.
It would go through Russia, Iran and India.
We have got a support of our decision to
start this corridor from Iran and we don't
have any problems with Russia. We hope that
India will also be positive. And we shall
notice there are some other interesting
projects by the railways, which are being
implemented, for example, container trains
from China to Europe. This year we have
already launched 2 test trains for transit
containers from China to Europe. We actively
developed our borderline station "
Druzhba", which is located on the border
with China. In the nearest 2-3 years we
hope there will be huge volume of trade
with China and Russia and it will increase
twice through our territory.
May be we could change the topic of
our conversation about the transportation?
It would be good if you could give us an
overview of the telecommunication sector
in Kazakhstan.
We are building the national super main
trunk lines for information transmissions.
The south and north lines of it have been
built from China to Almaty, Chymkent, Aktobe,
Russia. The next year the eastern line will
be completed: on the border with Russia,
Petropavlovsk, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk.
And the next year we will complete the line
from Omsk, Aktau, Atyrau. Then the construction
of Chymkent, Karaganda, Pavlodar line will
be started. And in the nearest 3 years all
the oblast centers will be connected through
this network. We have a program with the
digitalization. We should say that we are
optimistic about the future of this project.
And in this respect we are preparing one
project of liberalization in the telecommunication
sector. I have already said we should be
more pragmatic; remind within this respect,
we shall not speed on the events. It will
be a slow step-by-step project. And we should
create two national operators. There are
2 operators already: they are market observers.
We shall introduce the next page. It is
a great interest displayed today to this
very particular sector. That's why we cooperate
with the largest western companies like
Siemens, narrow do with Chinese departments.
How do you situate the Kazakhstani market
in the worldwide view? Do you think it is
quite open or it seems to be blocked? How
all these companies as Siemens, Chinese
partners, you have mentioned earlier, will
affect the Kazakhstani market?
We hope that our market will be promoted
and developed. I have said that such companies
are coming to us. It means that we have
our own market and that our market is already
in place. The fact that they displayed their
interest to us supports this claim. Not
a single company will come if there is no
an established market. These companies come
here because they can make money and they
are doing it here.
May be you would like to say a few words
about the biggest challenge of the "Ministry
of Transport and Telecommunications"
in Kazakhstan?
We have challenges everyday. All our goals
and purposes are our challenges and we are
working over all these challenges. Yesterday
I had a talk with the President and our
Ministry concerning the air space and research
in that field.
Could you tell us a little about your
professional background, if you don't mind,
of course?
I am a specialist in transport. I graduated
from the Saint Petersburg Institute of Engineers,
Institute of Transport.
So, may be you have your final message,
your personal comment for our readers?
I'd like to say that I'm happy that there
is such a beautiful country like Kazakhstan
in Central Asia with so many wonderful,
well educated people, the country which
is so rich in regard of natural and mineral
resources. The country strikes to build
a democratic society with the developed
economy, it is absolutely peaceful country.
This is a country, which within the 10 years
was able to pass to the market system economy
from the central system of management. The
country that was headed by very pragmatically
minded government and vice-president. The
country, in which more than 140 nationalities
live in peace and we welcome everybody to
come to our country to establish your own
business. So, it will be good for us and
for the investors.
Thank you. We strongly believe that transport
and telecommunications sector make the strength
of the economy today. As you said transport
and telecommunications is one of the priorities
today. All the branches of economy are successfully
developing today thanks to it. We can stress
that railway sector is one of the most important
for Kazakhstan at the moment. We will try
to highlight in our report the situation with
transport sector in Kazakhstan. |
V.I.P. INTERVIEWS 