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Zhambyl region
Total area: 144,300 sq.km Population: 985,600 Administrative centre: Taraz
Administrative Divisions
The administrative centre is Taraz, which was founded in 1864. Today Taraz is home to 34% of the region's population. There are four towns, ten rural districts and 367 auls (settlements) in the region. The urban and rural populations re-spectively form 45% and 55% of the total. Taraz is 1,255 km from Astana.
Climate
Harsh continental climate. Dry, hot summer through out the territory; cold winters with little snow in the north and mild, short winters in the south. Average January temperature down to -13 °C in the north of the region and -8 °C in the south, up to +27 or + 22 °C in July in the foothills. Annu-al precipitation up to 250mm in the north, 500mm in the south.
Mineral Resources
The region contains 72% of the country's phosphate rock reserves, 56.9% of the fluorspar and 25.4% of the gypsum.
Reserves of 33 ore minerals have been explored in the region, including 24 gold mines, four deposits
of uranium, two of copper, one of strontium, one of molybdenum, etc.
153 nonmetallic deposits are available in the regions, including, among others, barite (1), phosphate rock (12), fluorspar (2), ornamental stone (13), quartz rock (2), gypsum (1), limestone (7), building stone (18), lining brick (12), sand and grav-el aggregate (23), mortar sand (11), and loam soil for the fabrication of bricks (34). Two gas conden-sate fields - Amangeldy and Airakty - are located in the region's territory.
There are also 27 underground water deposits in op-eration.
Natural Resources
The grater part of the region consists of plains, with the Betpak Dala clay desert to the north and the Moyinkum sand desert to the south. The southern reaches of the Moyinkum Desert are fringed with mountains: the Karatau Range in the southwest (1,610 m), Kyrgyz Alatau in the south (3,817 m), Zhanyshol in the southeast (3,274 m) and Khantau in the east (1,052 m). The deserts of the region feature sagebrush, saltwort, and gra-mineous vegetation, as well as saksaul bushes;
the mountainous areas are covered with alpine meadows. Riparian forests grow in the flood plains of the Shy River (800 km lying within Ka-zakhstan), Talas River (453 km), and Asa River (253 km). Water reservoirs have been construct-ed on the Shu and Asa Rivers. The freshwater part of Lake Balkhash is located in the northeast of the region.
Agriculture
In 2004 the farm output in the oblast grossed $312.2m (6.1% of the national figure), and included 60.9% from crop production and 39.1% from live-stock breeding.
There are 12,746 private farms, 90 production cooperatives, 14 joint-stock companies, 201 partnership companies, and five state-owned farms in the oblast. Farmlands total some 9,350,500 ha.
Crop Farming
Arable land occupies 532,600 ha (5.7% of farmlands in the oblast). Most of the area grows cereal and feed crops (70.8% and 14.5% respectively).
In 2004 the wheat yield totalled 422,100 tonnes (net weight) or 4.2% of the national yield; barley yield accounted for 11.2% of the national total or 156,000 tonnes.
The average crop yield in the oblast was: cereals 1,800 kg/ha, potatoes 17,000 kg/ha, vegetables 17,700 kg/ha, melons and gourds 17,800 kg/ha, white beets 19,200 kg/ha, and sunflowers 1,290 kg/ha.
The largest producers are Podgornoye and Mais Agro Shu.
Livestock
The oblast has favourable conditions for animal hus-bandry, since natural pastures occupy some 88% of the farmland.
In 2004 the oblast's cattle stock totalled 279,800 head (5.4% of the national total). There are 1,875,900 head of sheep and goats (14%), 70,300 head of horses (6.3%), 48,800 head of pigs (3.8%), 4,000 head of camels (3.2%), and 1.3922 million head of chickens (5.4%).
The oblast is also a major producer of astrakhan in Kazakhstan (8,400 pieces, or 53.8% of the national total).
The farms in the oblast produced 39,500 tonnes of meat by carcass weight (5.4% of the national out-put), 234,000 tonnes of milk (5.1%), 87.7 million eggs (3.8%), and 4,000 tonnes of wool (14.5%).
The largest animal husbandry farms are Akbulyn and Yunchi.
Industry
In 2004 the industrial production in the oblast grossed $445.6m (1.6% of the national total). Key industries were the processing (78.7%) and mining (11.5%) sectors, and production and dis-tribution of electricity, gas and water (9.8%).
There are 246 large and medium-sized enterprises in the oblast.
The oblast is the country's only producer of phosphorus and phosphorus compounds. These compounds are used as raw materials in the chemical industry, which accounts for about 26.4% of the oblast's industrial production.
The largest chemical enterprises are the Jambyl branch of Kazphosphate (20.2% of the oblast's industrial production) and the Taraz branch of Kazphosphate - Mineralnye Udobreniya - which produces mineral fertilizers (6.1%).
A staple of the food industry in the oblast is sugar production which is represented by the major en-terprise Kant accounting for 14.3% of the oblast's industrial production.
Another large food enterprise is BM, which produces soft drinks, canned goods, flour, and food products (3.4% of the oblast's industrial production).
There are many building materials producers in the oblast, yet the largest is the Imstalkon Jambyl Metalwork Plant (3.2%).
The Akbakai mining and concentration com-bine, a large gold and silver mining enterprise, accounts for 2.5% of the oblast's industrial production.
Heavy engineering enterprises manufacture household appliances, fire extinguishers and spare parts for agricultural equipment.
In 2004 the idle flour producing facilities Zar-Zamin and Ak Bidai resumed operations; which included new dry fodder shops being opened at BM; a polypropylene bag shop was opened at Kant, and a building materials shop was com-missioned at Yenbek-Taraz. The Akbakai mining and concentration combine has also launched a stub end-processing department.
A test run of a baked brick facility (KSM Kury-lys) was held in April 2005. It is also expected that a facility producing foamed concrete (Ceramic Invest) will be commissioned soon.
Foreign Trade
In 2004 exports and imports totalled $65.5m (0.3% of the national figure) and $103m (0.8%) respectively, hence a trade deficit of $37.5m.
Investment
Investment in fixed assets in the oblast amounted to $132.8m (1.1% of the national total). These funds were invested mainly in the development of the min-ing industry (28.6%), public governance (16.5%), transportation and communications (13.6%), and the processing industry (11.1%).
Major sources of finance for investment into fixed assets were as follows:
Companies' own funds 67.5%;
The central and local budgets 32.5% (23.3% and 9.2% respectively);
The following investment projects were completed in 2004:
BM - setting up a facility for production of gluten;
Establishing pilot machine and technology stations in the Kordai and Shu districts utilized the loan funds of Kazagrofinance.
Foreign Capital
There are 54 enterprises with a foreign sharehold-ing in the oblast, of which 33.3% are engaged in trade and 18.5% in the processing industry (mainly food production). These enterprises employ some 2,536 people.
The output of products and services by companies with a foreign shareholding in the oblast totalled $4.3m.
Exports of goods and services by joint ventures and foreign companies in the oblast amounted to $4.4m, whereas imports amounted $3.8m, thus causing a positive trade balance of $0.6m.
The largest enterprises with a foreign shareholding in the oblast are Khimprom-2030, which is engaged in producing non-basic mineral substances, and the Kazakhstani branch of Kazakhstan Wool Processors, focusing primarily on processing wool.
Communications
The oblast enjoys cellular service, trunk lines, and paging communication, as well as Internet access. The length of roads in the oblast is 4,112 km, and railways account for some 1,044 km.
Power Industry
The largest power producer in the oblast is the Jambyl State Regional Power Plant with a total capacity of 1,230 MW (load factor of up to 14%).
In 2004 the following rates were set:
Electricity $0.03 per kWh;
Water, including:
Cold water $0.07per cu m;
Hot water $1.9per cu m;
Heating $26.6 per gigacalorie.
Banking
17 branches of secondtier banks operate in the oblast.
Employment
The labour force in the oblast amounts to 492,900 people (6.3% of the national total). 62% of employees have at least a basic or general, primary or secondary education. 21% of employees have a secondary vocational education, and 17% have a higher education, including undergraduates.
The number of employed is 442,400 (6.2% of the national total). Most of the population work in the services sector (53.9%); agribusiness, hunting and fishery industries (34.4%); and 11.8% in industry.
There are 50,400 unemployed people in the oblast (7.7% of the nation's total).
The average monthly nominal wage in the oblast amounted to $140.7 (67.5% of the national level).
Education
There are five universities and 23 specialist-training colleges in the oblast.
In 2004 there were 6,744 graduates from the institu-tions of higher education, predominantly specialising in teaching (49.2% of the total graduates), economics (22%), law (12.9%), and engineering (13.4%).
The colleges prepared 3,074 specialists in technical disciplines, the humanities, medicine, agribusiness, economics, and other fields.
Investment Projects
• Exploration and extraction in the Kokdzhot gold-
bearing area ($75.068m, developed by Ak-Bulak);
of liquid detergents and shampoos ($500,000, developed by the Keremet Nurd Group);
Sewing production ($250,000, developed by Orion);
Production of shoes ($250,000, developed by Aster).
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