Earlier this year, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Nurzhan Nurzhigitov, reached an agreement with Uzbekistan to supply 3.7 billion cubic meters of water over six months. However, Uzbekistan exceeded expectations by sending the agreed amount within just four months.
It is projected that Uzbekistan will supply an additional 1 billion cubic meters of water by the end of the irrigation season. This collaborative effort is crucial for meeting the demands of Kazakhstan’s farmers.
Currently, the Shardara reservoir in Kazakhstan holds 2.6 billion cubic meters of water, which is 689 million cubic meters more than at the same time last year. In total, 3.9 billion cubic meters of water have been directed to the Shardara reservoir.
Of this amount, 3.6 billion cubic meters have been released to the lower reaches of the Syrdarya River, an increase of 950 million cubic meters compared to last year. Additionally, over 700 million cubic meters have been directed to the Kyzylkum Canal, and more than 400 million cubic meters have been sent to the Northern Aral Sea.
Moldir Abdualieva, the official representative of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, stated, “Thanks to the negotiations conducted by our side and preliminary agreements with our neighbors on the work schedules of the Toktogul and Bahri-Tojik reservoirs, water is steadily flowing into the Kazakhstan part of the Dostyk interstate canal. Currently, 90 cubic meters of water per second flows into our country through the canal, which is enough to provide farmers of the Turkestan region with irrigation water.”
