The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Republic of Kazakhstan has signed an agreement under which France will provide Kazakhstan with a grant of 1.35 million euros. In turn, the French side promises to conduct a large-scale study of the Lake Balkhash basin (near which they want to build a nuclear power plant – editor's note ) and prepare a general plan for the conservation of the reservoir, Kursiv reports .
"The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the French Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM) signed a trilateral cooperation agreement. The document provides for the allocation of a grant of 1.35 million euros to the ministry for the development of water resources management in Lake Balkhash," the statement said.
The agreement was reached at the international One Water Summit, which is taking place in Saudi Arabia with the participation of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and French President Emmanuel Macron.
After the French side conducts a study of Lake Balkhash, they promise to develop a general plan for the development of the water basin until 2040. They want to include measures to preserve the lake.
"The document provides for the measurement and analysis of water conditions, modeling of climate and anthropogenic influences, and forecasting of the water balance until 2040. One of the goals of the project is to optimize the operating mode of the Kapchagay reservoir to stabilize the level of Lake Balkhash. Based on the results of the study, measures will be taken to clean the rivers, prevent soil degradation and water pollution, develop fisheries and ecotourism, and create a regulatory framework for the protection of the lake," said Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Nurzhan Nurzhigitov.
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Cover: photo from eltourism.kz