Water supply companies in rural areas are unprofitable, according to Roman Sklyar.

“As of today, the length of water supply networks across the country is approximately 100,000 km, with a wear rate of 40%. Despite the government's targeted policy to provide all citizens with quality drinking water, one of the pressing issues in the sphere of water supply and wastewater management, particularly in rural areas, is the lack of specialized enterprises and the weak material and technical base of existing facilities,” wrote Sklyar in his response to the deputy request.

According to him, in practice, the constructed water supply networks remain on the balance sheets of akimats or are transferred to non-core enterprises or organizations that lack qualified specialists and specialized equipment for proper operation.

“Overall, the rural water supply sector is not attractive to private capital. Factors such as low tariffs, small population size, and the remoteness of villages from one another contribute to this. Consequently, most enterprises servicing local water supply systems in villages operate at a loss. The approved tariffs do not cover all the costs incurred by these enterprises,” added the Deputy Prime Minister.

Earlier, deputies of the Mazhilis proposed to prohibit the transfer of water supply systems to the balance of rural akimats and non-core organizations and ensure compliance with the legislation.