In July, a draft government resolution "On the transfer of certain plots of forest fund land to another category of land" was published on the "Open NPA" portal.
According to vlast.kz, the transfer of 5,300 hectares of land from the forest fund of the Zhambyl region is expected for the needs of the armed forces. The Ministry of Defence stated that they plan to build a training ground on this site for conducting combat training exercises.
The department also noted that the land being transferred is not 5,300 hectares, as stated in the draft government resolution, but more than 5,560 hectares.
"A meeting of the standing commission was held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Akim of the Zhambyl region regarding the construction of the training ground and the transfer of the land plot into permanent land use to the 'South' regional command", the ministry reported.
At the same time, the Ministry of Defence promised that they would not cut down the forest and would equip the training ground in compliance with environmental standards.
"At the same time, losses of forestry production caused by the withdrawal of forest land for use for purposes not related to forestry management will be compensated to the revenue of the republican budget", the ministry reports.
For the safety of citizens, the ministry promises to dig trenches around the perimeter of the training ground, install information boards and signs, and notify the population before conducting practical combat training exercises.