JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry extended an environmental permit for Canadian miner Centerra Gold to operate at the Kumtor mine until the end of the year. The company now needs official approval of its mine plan for 2016 by the end of June in order to continue its work at the mine.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 24 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon said that he wanted to triple Tajikistan’s power generation capacity to around 45b kWh/year by 2030.
This is a long-term projection, and plenty can happen over the next 14 years, especially in Tajikistan, but it is still an important one. It is important because it shows the impact that the World Bank sponsored CASA-1000 project is having on the aspirations of Tajikistan.
Tajikistan needs to boost its exports and electricity production, through its network of hydropower stations, has emerged as the only real way of doing this. Gold production, while increasing, is still low, hopes of an oil boom spurred by the discovery of Bokhtar field have fallen flat.
But CASA-1000 has encouraged positive talk of a boom in power generation in Tajikistan. It’s important, too, to credit Tajikistan, over Kyrgyzstan, of being hard-headed about power generation. It will supply the lion’s share of the power for the CASA-1000 project, which will send electricity across Afghanistan to Pakistan, and plans to boost its power generation capacity even further show that the potential is there for more.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(Editorial from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 22 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Under new rules, government ministers in Tajikistan will have to swear an oath of allegiance to President Emomali Rakhmon, media reported. The new rule will further boost the perceived power of Mr Rakhmon. He has been accused of building a personality cult.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Steel producer ArcelorMittal Temirtau received a fine of 3.4m tenge (around $10,000) from the Kazakh government for failing to comply with its 2014 investment plan. The company, a subsidiary of Indian giant ArcelorMittal, operates the biggest steel producing plant in Central Asia. Slower demand for steel had forced the company to cut back investment and lay off workers in 2014. It had hoped that the reemergence of Iran into the international economy would boost sales.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 17 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s state regulator said it will consider a 5% reduction in the price it charges homes for electricity, currently in the 38.8 – 48.8dram range (8-10 cents), adding to the deflationary pressure in the economy. In April, Russia’s Gazprom agreed to apply a 9% discount to the gas it supplied to Armenia. Rising electricity costs for households had sparked a popular protest in the summer of 2015.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 23 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian taxi associations have accused Yandex Taxi of market dumping practices as the Russian search-engine owned company tries to enter the local market. Yandex Taxi will start operations in Armenia on July 1 and has set prices that appear to be half the average rate of 500dram ($1) per 5km. The new taxi service will function through an online app. This month Uber started operations in Astana.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 20 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Azerbaijan’s Central Bank published economic data that highlighted a current account deficit and a drop in FDI for Q1 2016, compared to the same period last year. This is the second consecutive quarter that Azerbaijan has run a trade deficit. Statistical projections say that Azerbaijan will face an economic recession in the first half of the year.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 18 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia’s state-owned power distributor Electro Power Systems Operator said it will export around 1b kWh of electricity to Iran in 2016 from itsHradzan and Yerevan thermal power plants. Armenia and Iran have signed an agreement on the exchange of Iranian gas for Armenia’s electricity.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – The Almaty city administration is rolling out parking meters across the city, the first in Kazakhstan. Almaty SpetsTekhParking, the company that will manage the service, said that the fee will beof100tenge/hour ($0.30). Almaty citizens reacted in online forums. Some highlighted a possible waste of public funds, but some hailed the measure as a potential life-saver for the city, which suffers from a chronic pollution problem.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
ALMATY, JUNE 21 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev reshuffled several government positions, naming a new mayor for Astana and a new chief of the presidential administration, perhaps giving an indication of how he sees his succession playing out.
Former Astana mayor Adilbek Dzhaksybekov was named chief of the presidential administration, taking the place of Nurlan Nigmatullin, who was quickly made Speaker of parliament.
Mr Nazarbayev thanked and lauded both for their services.
“Mr Nigmatullin worked with me for many years with skill and professionalism, proving himself during hard times,” Mr Nazarbayev said. “Mr Dzhaksybekov has previously worked in this position, for which we need a person with experience and equilibrium.”
The head of the presidential administration is one of the most powerful positions in the Kazakh political system, marking a major promotion for the 61-year-old Mr Dzhaksybekov.
For Mr Nigmatullin, known as the “Grey Cardinal” for his deal making abilities and loyalty to Mr Nazarbayev, the position of Speaker of parliament is an important one. According to the Kazakh constitution, if Mr Nazarbayev resigns or dies in office, he will take over as president.
Importantly, too, Asset Issekeshev, former minister of innovation and development was named mayor of Astana, replacing Mr Dzhaksybekov.
Mr Issekeshev, 44, is seen as a rising star. As mayor of Astana, he will be the face of the capital city, when it hosts the EXPO next year.
Mr Nazarbayev is 75-year-old but has yet to lay out a coherent succession plan. He has ruled over Kazakhstan since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
ENDS
Copyright ©The Conway Bulletin — all rights reserved
(News report from Issue No. 286, published on June 24 2016)
