The Ural River is undergoing significant changes under the influence of intensive economic activity. Over the last few decades, several companies have obtained substantial plots of water fund land on long-term leases, which is gradually transforming the ecosystem of one of Kazakhstan's most important waterways. The editorial team of FBRK decided to find out who is turning the Ural into a giant sand quarry.
It is worth recalling that back in 2022, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted the critical condition of the river and the need for urgent action. However, while officials exchange diplomatic notes with their Russian counterparts, local companies are methodically extracting sand and gravel mixture from the river, turning a once mighty body of water into a parched, ravine-like semblance of itself. Just three main companies - Estoral LLP, Fleet LLP, and Zhaiyk - Kurylsyk Kum LLP - lease more than 640,000 square metres of land directly in the riverbed and on the banks of the Ural. Let's examine each company in turn.
Estoral LLP has been on the market since March 1996. The company does not just extract sand; it is literally embedding itself into the economic and administrative fabric of the region. The founder and first director, Talpat Imashev, is a key figure in this story. He not only manages Estoral LLP but also heads the joint Kazakh-Russian enterprise Sea Line LLP, which also specialises in the development of gravel and sand quarries.
The family business is complemented by Talpat's wife, Iralia Imasheva, and his son, Yerik Imashev. Particularly notable is the financial history of Iralia Imasheva: she has a debt under enforcement proceedings of more than 2.7 million tenge, a tax debt of over 851,000 tenge, and has had serious restrictions imposed - including a ban on leaving the country, a ban on notarial acts, and the seizure of her bank accounts.
The company's history is rich with interesting facts. In 2004, Estoral won a tender to build a 300-horsepower motor vessel and a barge with a carrying capacity of 1000 tonnes. From 2006 to 2014, the company actively carried out dredging works in the coastal zone of the Caspian Sea and on the Ural River, participating in environmental projects.
Over its entire period of operation, Estoral has paid more than 77.4 million tenge in taxes, of which 13.5 million tenge was paid just last year. Today, the company has three plots with a total area of 262,113 square metres in the riverbed, leased for 25 years. As the company's director once recalled, the uniqueness of their sand and gravel mixture was so highly regarded that it was used in the construction of the Ostankino TV Tower in Moscow, delivered by railcars and barges. This is an impressive example of productive success, which likely prompts reflection on the balance between economic interests and the ecological stability of the river.
A special place in this ecological drama is held by Fleet LLP, which has been in existence since May 2000. The company leases 86,000 square metres of water fund land for the extraction of sand and gravel mixture. Its director, Zhaiyk Khabiyev, simultaneously manages several other companies: Zhaiyk Kum Tas LLP, Zhaiyk Kum Tas Nedra LLP, and Zhaiykkumtas Stroy LLP. All of them are involved in the development of granite and sand quarries.
The financial condition of Fleet raises serious questions: a tax debt of around 4.7 million tenge, a debt under enforcement proceedings of 25.3 million tenge, seizure of bank accounts, property, and vehicles, and a ban on notarial acts. Over its entire history, the company has paid just over 25 million tenge in taxes and currently has a high degree of risk regarding its tax contributions.
Zhaiyk - Kurylsyk Kum LLP has been leasing two plots with a total area of 300,000 square metres since 2019. The company has been in existence since August 2008 and has paid more than 86.4 million tenge in taxes during this time. Its director is Timur Musalimov, and the founder is Muslim Aidzhanov, who, incidentally, is a member of the Public Council of the Baiterek District.
Aidzhanov also heads Kurylsyk Kum LLP, which is interesting because, at one time, its founders included state enterprises - NC SPK Batys JSC, and later SPK Aqjaiyq JSC. It should be noted that in 2010, NC SPK Batys JSC was reorganised by being split into two separate corporations: SPK Oral JSC and SPK Aktobe JSC. Subsequently, in 2019, SPK Oral JSC was renamed to SPK Aqjaiyq JSC. Over the period of its existence, Kurylsyk Kum has paid more than 11.2 million tenge in taxes.
A separate story is Satellite Group LLP, which has been in existence since January 2010. During this time, the company has paid 49.5 million tenge in taxes. In March of this year, activists discovered that Satellite Group was extracting sand in close proximity to the river. It turned out that the company leases a plot of land with an area of 44,172 square metres, classified as agricultural land. At the same time, according to data from the kompra.kz service, the company itself is engaged in the rental of construction equipment. Incidentally, the outraged activists were shown a permit, allegedly issued in 2021, for the extraction of common minerals valid for 10 years.
Rounding out the list is Turar Seksembayev with his sole proprietorship Batys Kumtas, leasing a plot of land with an area of 90,000 square metres. In addition to sand extraction, Seksembayev owns a freight transport company, BatysKZ Avtotrans LLP, registered in January 2022 and which has already paid 2.4 million tenge in taxes.
The pursuit of profit is a natural driver of any business, but equally natural should be the system of state control that prevents this pursuit from destroying critically important ecosystems. The silence of the supervisory authorities, who issue ten-year permits for sand extraction in close proximity to water protection zones, borders on criminal inaction. The economic interest of the companies is obvious, but where is the line beyond which profit extraction becomes ecological vandalism?
Today, the Ural is in a critical ecological situation. The river, which is the main water source for the Atyrau, Aktobe, and West Kazakhstan regions, is gradually losing its potential. And if the barbaric extraction is not stopped immediately, the only thing left of the mighty river will be memories and a dry riverbed.
It is worth recalling that the FBRK editorial team previously reported in detail on agricultural plots located an unacceptable distance from the Astana Reservoir. On this matter, we contacted the relevant departments, and their responses can be found via the link. Furthermore, we have actively covered the problem related to the extraction of minerals near the Ishim River.