Press room

6 August 2020, Almaty - As of today, about 2,800 private residential buildings in the city remain unconnected to the gas supply system.

Early this year, Mr. Bakytzhan Sagintaev, Akim of Almaty, was instructed to consider lending through the second-tier banks to connect households to the gas supply system. The initiative was supported by Halyk Bank, represented by its CEO, Umut Shayakhmetova.

As a result, joint efforts with Halyk Bank have been initiated.  To date, an agreement has been reached with the Bank to provide interest-free loans to the population of Almaty to connect gas.

"Halyk Bank, headquartered in Almaty, is concerned with improving the environment. Therefore, back in February, after the report meeting of the Akim of Almaty B. Sagintayev with the population, we expressed our willingness to support this project," Deputy CEO of Halyk Bank Dauren Sartayev said, "And although the COVID-19 pandemic and further quarantine recalibrated the implementation schedule, we continued working on the project together with the city authorities. Today, when I introduce it to the public, I would like to note that the project is designed for wider coverage: the vulnerable group and the rest of Almaty citizens who want to have their houses gasified. We know that coal used by some of our residents for heating has a negative impact on the air quality in Almaty, so, for our part, Halyk Bank as a charitable contribution will provide for free gas network connection to the houses of residents belonging to the vulnerable groups. According to the lists provided by the Akimat of Almaty, we will finance both the gas piping to residential houses and connection of all necessary gas utilities, including installation of relevant equipment. And for other residents of Almaty, who are not in the vulnerable category, we offer loans at 0%. It will be our contribution to the improvement of the air basin of our city".

In August last year, the Akimat identified 210 addresses of socially vulnerable people, which required gas supply. 148 out of 210 houses were gasified, the other 62 remain unconnected. The district akimats additionally identified 30 addresses of citizens from vulnerable groups, as a result, the list of 92 addresses (40 in Alatau, 6 in Bostandyk, and 46 in Nauryzbay district) was submitted to Halyk Bank.

In order to support low-income citizens and improve the environmental conditions of the city, Halyk Bank offered its gratuitous assistance in gasification of the houses of vulnerable groups. The approximate cost of the project is more than KZT60 million.

To obtain the interest-free loan, citizens should proceed as follows:

- apply to the district akimats for advice with the list of necessary documents;

- obtain the terms of reference for connecting to the gas distribution system and sign a contract with the suppliers;

- apply for the loan with the contract to one of the two branches of Halyk Bank located at:

• outlet 131832, Halyk Bank, 2 Kungurskaya Str., Turksib district;
• PSC 30, Halyk Bank, 13A Zhetysu-4 microdistrict, Auezov district.

Pursuant to the tailored 0% lending program for households (gasification of private areas according to the lists of the Almaty Akimat), the following conditions are offered:

• interest rate - 0%;
• origination fee - 0,1%;
• loan term – up to 18 months;
• loan amount per individual – not more than KZT309,000.

Halyk Bank, being the largest financial institution of the Republic and the city, is interested in environmental improvement and contributes to the environmental programs of the Akimat of Almaty. At the same time, construction of the air quality monitoring system, gasification of households of Almaty residents, in particular, socially vulnerable groups, are defined as priorities.