ASTANA – Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to install meters that will measure the exact volume of water consumed by both countries, the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation reported on March 19.
Under this agreement, Kazakhstan will install meters on Uzbekistan’s territory, and vice versa, with online data exchange. It holds significance for Kazakhstan, which geographically has limited access to river sources.
Experts from both countries are determining where water meters will be installed and negotiating with international organizations to involve them in the project.
Minister Nurzhan Nurzhigitov revealed plans to start talks on similar initiatives with neighboring countries in April.
Last December, Nurzhigitov spoke about Kazakhstan’s intention to build 20 new reservoirs in the coming years, which will reduce the country’s dependence on water supply from neighboring countries by an average of 25%.