Four forestry enterprises in the East Kazakhstan Region have announced tenders for the purchase of early forest fire detection systems costing between 773 million and almost 1.5 billion tenge each. The procurements are taking place against the backdrop of remarks by the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC), which previously identified serious shortcomings in similar equipment in the Semey Ormany reserve.
WHICH SYSTEMS THE FORESTRY ENTERPRISES ARE PROCURING
As reported by Hronika.kz, citing public procurement data, tenders for financial leasing services have been announced by the forestry enterprises of Ulken Naryn, Zaisan, Kurchum and the Samara district. As of 11 November, two procedures had been completed and two more were ongoing.
According to the terms of the projects, the equipment must detect smoke and fires automatically around the clock and all year round, forecast fires and help respond promptly to emergencies.
However, the effectiveness of such technologies has previously raised questions among state auditors.
WHAT SHORTCOMINGS THE SAC IDENTIFIED
The SAC's conclusion on the execution of the republican budget for 2025 contains the results of tests of the early fire detection system that Kazakhtelecom JSC was implementing in the Semey Ormany reserve.
The inspection showed that the equipment detected fires late and inaccurately, especially at night. The system was also unable to determine the precise coordinates of fire sources.
The contract value was 3.1 billion tenge, of which 937.2 million tenge was transferred as an advance. After the shortcomings were identified, a legal dispute arose between the reserve and Kazakhtelecom. The remaining 2.2 billion tenge was returned to the budget on 26 December 2025.
The auditors also pointed to the insufficient effectiveness of the existing forest fire prevention and suppression system in Kazakhstan, weak prevention measures and a lack of technical equipment.
HISTORY OF PROBLEMS WITH FIRE DETECTION SYSTEMS
The story of fire prevention systems has already repeatedly been the subject of FBRK publications.
As far back as 23 April 2024, it was reported that the Ministry of Ecology had not received funding to install an early fire detection system in Semey Ormany costing 4.1 billion tenge. At the time, the project was not supported during budget formation.
In October 2024, we wrote about an inspection of forestry enterprises in the North Kazakhstan Region. The prosecutor's office established that all forestry institutions in the region lacked automatic FireWatch early fire detection systems. Following the inspection, 45 million tenge was allocated for early fire detection services.
Then, on 22 July 2026, FBRK reported in detail on the results of the audit of the Semey Ormany system. It then emerged that the advance payment of 937.2 million tenge had been recorded in the budget reporting as fully spent funds, despite the identified shortcomings in the equipment.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE NEW PROCUREMENTS
The new tenders in the East Kazakhstan Region were announced after auditors pointed to problems with similar technology. At the same time, the published information does not make it possible to establish whether the same technical solutions are used in the new projects or who will become the supplier of the equipment.
