OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2014. Karachaganak Petroleum Operating B.V. (KPO) has announced that a new House of Culture in Kaldygaity village in Karatobe district of the West Kazakhstan oblast was successfully put into operation.

A total amount of KPO investments in this social project made up USD2.2 million. The WKO construction company “Zhaikselstroy LLP” was the general contractor of the project.

The official opening ceremony was attended by the West Kazakhstan and Karatobe district administrations, top management of KPO, representatives of the district department of education and contractors.

As KPO Operations Director Luca Vignati noted in his welcoming speech, “Karachaganak not only represents vast resources. The field development has also brought enormous benefits to Kazakhstan’s economy and the communities within the West Kazakhstan region”.

“While delivering on its operation commitments, KPO as a responsible corporate citizen, works towards generating maximum social and economic benefits from the Karachaganak field for the benefits of local communities and the Republic of Kazakhstan as a whole”, he added.

The two-storey House of Culture has a library, a reading hall, a big concert hall for 200 seats, dressing and recreation rooms, rooms for playing of piano, dombra and other musical instruments, dance hall, and general facilities.

The overall improvement and landscaping of the adjacent territory were implemented as part of the project.

Within the scope of social infrastructure development programme, in 2014 KPO also plans to complete a number of other facilities in the city of Uralsk, including a tennis court and the House of Arts named after Kadyr Mirza-Ali. In addition the company will implement repair of roads in Uralsk and fulfil other projects.

Every year KPO implements a big number of social infrastructure projects in WKO. The list of priorities is defined by the West Kazakhstan Oblast administration. The KPO social development programme is focused on the construction of healthcare, education, culture and sports facilities. All projects are carried out by Kazakh contractors only. To date, KPO has invested nearly \\$250 million into social infrastructure development projects in WKO.

KPO’s efforts to develop the region’s social infrastructure have been recognized at the national Paryz Corporate Social Responsibility Competition where KPO has won several prestigious awards, including the 2013 Silver Paryz Award in the Best Social Project category.