Council Members Query Water Works Tenders

TALAS — Opposition members of the Talas city council yesterday questioned the award of some construction contracts for the reconstruction of the Talas Municipal Water Treatment Works without open tender, and asked the municipality to publish the contract files.

The reconstruction, together with the replacement of Soviet-era water mains, is financed with concessional loans and directed by Aidar Maksat, Director-General of Infrastructure Development for the municipality since 2009. Maksat is married to Zara Toktarova, the Governor's daughter. Municipal figures show that losses from the distribution network have fallen markedly since the program began, and councillors on both sides of the chamber praised the improvement in supply to the outer districts.

The questions concerned contracts for pumping stations and sections of trunk main awarded by direct negotiation. Maksat told the session that the contracts had been placed under the emergency provisions of the municipal procurement rules, because the mains concerned were failing, and that each award had been approved by the city's legal department. He offered to give the council's budget committee the full files. The committee chairman said the files would be reviewed at its next meeting.