ASTANA, Kazakhstan, January 13. Kazakhstan has increased the water volume in the Northern Aral Sea by 42 percent following the completion of the first phase of the sea conservation project, TurkicWorld reports.
The Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Kazakhstan Nurzhan Nurzhigitov discussed the implementation of the second phase of the Northern Aral Sea restoration project with the residents of the Aral district.
During the meeting, it was noted that, as a result of the first phase of the Northern Aral Sea conservation project, the water volume in the sea increased by 42 percent, reaching 27 billion cubic meters. The salinity of the water has decreased almost fourfold, and the annual fish catch has risen to 8,000 tons.
To fulfill the instruction of the President of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation developed the project "Regional Development and Restoration of the Northern Part of the Aral Sea." The project covers three main areas.
To note, in 2024, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation directed about 2.6 billion cubic meters of water to the Aral Sea. During the irrigation period, a record volume of 1 billion cubic meters was sent. This became possible due to the efficient distribution and conservation of water from the Syr Darya River. By comparison, in 2022, only 816 million cubic meters of water flowed into the Aral Sea.
