Kokshetau street lighting project overpaid by 126 million tenge, prosecutors say

September 3, 2026 at 03:51 PM1 min

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Prosecutors in Kazakhstan's Akmola region found that the Kokshetau street lighting project overpaid 126 million tenge due to inflated equipment costs. The overpayment was recovered to the state budget after supervisory measures.

Key Facts

Prosecutors in Akmola region found the Kokshetau street lighting project overpaid 126 million tenge due to inflated equipment costs.
The contract set the price of one 120-watt streetlight at 80,000 tenge, while its market price is about 52,000 tenge.
The state partner in the project was the Akmola region energy and housing department.
The entire overpaid amount of 126 million tenge was recovered to the state budget.

The Overpayment

The Akmola region prosecutor's office identified the violation during an analysis of public-private partnership projects. The project 'Lighting of Kokshetau city streets' lacked economic justification for the cost of materials and equipment. The contract priced one 120-watt streetlight at 80,000 tenge, while its market price is about 52,000 tenge. This violation of budget efficiency principles led to an unjustified project cost increase of 126 million tenge.

Recovery and Oversight

Following supervisory measures, the entire overpaid amount of 126 million tenge was recovered to the state budget. The prosecutor's office stated that targeted spending of budget funds is a priority and under special control. Earlier, the Kokshetau prosecutor's office identified a school capital repair cost overstatement of 1.5 billion tenge.