-
This final report was prepared as part of the project on Sustainable Business Models for Water Supply and Sanitation in Small Towns and Rural Areas in Kazakhstan. It was implemented by the OECD EAP Task Force within the framework of the National Policy Dialogue on Water Policy in Kazakhstan in co-operation with the European Union Water Initiative (EUWI) facilitated by the OECD and UNECE. The project was financially supported by the European Union and the governments of Norway and Switzerland.
-
-
-
This section presents background information on the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in Kazakhstan. It highlights such key factors influencing selection of appropriate business model as low density of population, substantial number of remote villages and uneven distribution of fresh water resources suitable for drinking water supply across the territory of the country.
-
This section discusses existing WSS business models in small towns and rural areas in Kazakhstan. As official data on the legal and institutional organisation of WSS operators were not available, the information presented here is based on the knowledge and experience of local project experts.
The existing WSS business models in small towns and rural areas in Kazakhstan are the following:
• a large farm or an agricultural enterprise
• a small town water utility
• a multi-services utility
• a rayon water utility
• grouped water mains as a source of water
• an individual private operator under a service contract or lease or concession agreement (public-private partnership model)
• a community-based organisation (e.g. rural consumer co-operatives).According to national experts, large farm or individual private operators that provide WSS services are the main model of service delivery in many small towns and villages (representing about 61% of the total rural population). Small town water utilities, including multi-services utility and rayon water utility, service around 33% of the rural population. Community-based organisations serve only 6% of the rural population.
-
Due to the low population density in Kazakhstan, individual (servicing just one household) WSS systems will be used in many small and remote villages. Only areas with sufficient density of population and of economic activity are or could be served by centralised (piped) WSS systems requiring professional operators. For such areas, the key recommended WSS business model is the Rayon Vodocanal model; while other communities might have to use alternative business models that can complement the Rayon Vodocanal model, such as: service delivery by community-based organisations (CBOs) or by small-scale private operators or by multi-service utilities (typically in towns). All these models are discussed below, one by one. The proposed Rayon WSS Master Plan should help define the communities that will be included in the service area of the Rayon Vodocanal, and those that will be served by other complementary models, back-stopped by the Rayon Vodocanal.
-