FBRK.KZ

The Government of Kazakhstan has embarked on a large-scale expansion of its oil refining industry. The country will increase the capacity of its three largest refineries and is working on plans to build a new refinery with a capacity of 10 million tonnes per year. This development comes amid repeated incidents at the marine terminal of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC).

Journalist and media expert Nazira Darimbet has been elected as the new president of the international foundation for the protection of freedom of speech "Ádil sóz". The decision was taken on 17 July 2026 at the general meeting of founders and a meeting of the foundation's Board of Trustees.

The area of the forest fire in the "Semei ormany" state forest nature reserve turned out to be significantly larger than the preliminary estimate. According to data from the NASA FIRMS fire monitoring system, approximately 1,676 hectares were affected by the fire, whereas previously 370 hectares had been reported.

JSC "NC "KazAvtoZhol" has announced the start of major repairs and expansion of a section of the Almaty – Bishkek international highway from the 19th to the 27th kilometre in the Karasai district of the Almaty region. The project provides for an increase in the number of traffic lanes from four to eight and the modernisation of one of the busiest entrances to Almaty.

Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population has reported the preservation of state guarantees for pension savings and introduced changes to the pension asset management system. Some of the new rules come into force from September 2026.

On 19 July, two forest fires were registered on the territory of the state forest fund. The fires occurred in the Aktobe region and the Karaganda region. At the same time, specialists completely extinguished three previously recorded forest fires.

The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has shut down the online casino "Nomad Poker," which was operating in Kazakhstan. According to the investigation, the gaming platform was run through a network of foreign money mules, and the total amount received from players exceeded 7.5 billion tenge.

On 16 July, a road traffic accident (RTA) involving traffic patrol motorcycles and an Onix car occurred in Tashkent. As a result of the crash, one traffic police officer died, and several other injured individuals are receiving medical assistance.

An abnormally high air temperature in Kazakhstan has caused thermal deformation on certain sections of cement-concrete roads. Such changes are a predictable operational factor during extreme heat and do not indicate poor road construction.

The Veterinary Control and Supervision Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture has published an official statement following reports of an illegal workshop in Astana. The department has disclosed the results of the inspection, the measures taken, and further actions regarding products of unknown origin.