URALSK, Western Kazakhstan Oblast, 23 November 2007 – Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. (KPO) announced the successful completion of two large infrastructure projects totalling $5.45 million in the West Kazakhstan Oblast (WKO).
The therapeutic department of the WKO Oblast hospital along with the Youth Sports School stadium have undergone complete refurbishments.
The refurbishment of the therapeutic department is the latest of a number of projects which KPO has carried out at the Oblast Hospital. In the past four years, KPO has refurbished a total of four blocks at the Hospital, including the post operation, emergency and surgical departments.
As part of the refurbishment of the stadium, which is located in the centre of Uralsk, KPO laid a new artificial field which meets the standards set by the Union of European Football Associations. This facility will be used as a training base for the local youth football team.
Attending the ceremonies to mark the events were the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Karim Massimov, WKO Oblast Akim, Baktykozha Izmukhambetov, accompanied by representatives from their offices, together with KPO, contracting organisations, veterans and members of the Uralsk medical and sporting communities.
WKO Oblast Akim Bakhtykozha Izmukhambetov noted that the opening of these social facilities has marked the 10th Anniversary of the signing of the Final Production Sharing Agreement for Karachaganak. “I would like to express my gratitude to our colleagues from KPO for our fruitful co-operation and hope for a further strengthening of our mutually beneficial relationship”, said the WKO Akim in his opening address.
Roger Fox, KPO General Director said: “We are delighted to be able to provide these modern public facilities to residents of the Western Kazakhstan region. Many communities are already seeing the benefits of new schools and hospitals, better water supplies and cultural projects. The KPO social programme will run for some 40 years and will total some $0.5 billion. This will contribute to the continued development of the region for the benefit of Kazakhstan and its people”.
The refurbishment of the therapeutic department was completed within six months and the stadium refurbishment took 15 months.
The Uralsk based construction companies, UralskStroyInvest and Domostroitel were the main contractors for the projects.
Alexey Bezyanov, General Director of UralskStroyInvest, said: “The cooperation with KPO has allowed our company to significantly increase its operational capacity and improve our technical abilities. This has helped us to obtain certification in ISO-9001 quality control systems, as well as to improve our quality control management”.
KPO invests over $10 million annually into social infrastructure projects in Western Kazakhstan. These projects include roads, hospitals, schools and the construction of other social facilities. The selection process is steered by the WKO Authority, and considers the real needs of the local community.
