J.I. Omarov, Deputy Chairman of the Water Resources Committee at the Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Agriculture

The idea of supplying the dry Central Kazakhstan area with water from the Irtysh river has been suggested by many researchers as early as in the 1930-1940-ies.
The intensive development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy in Temirtou and Djezkazgan and exploration and early exploitation of rich deposits of complex ores in Djairem, Koktenkol, Kairaktakh, and Karajal gave a real impetus to implementation of this idea.