Kazakhstan cuts planned budget spending by $14.9 billion – PM

Photo: Kazakh government

BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 14. Kazakhstan's government reduced planned spending for 2027 by 6.7 trillion tenge ($14.9 billion) during the budget preparation process, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said.

This was reflected in the statement published by the government of Kazakhstan.

Speaking at a meeting of the Kurultai in response to questions from lawmakers, Bektenov said the government was continuously working to optimize public spending.

He noted that, on the president's instructions, a moratorium on the construction of administrative buildings for government agencies remained in place, as such projects represent a capital-intensive expenditure item.

In addition, the government cut spending and redirected funds toward higher-priority needs by 360 billion tenge ($805.1 million) through budget adjustments in 2026.

“As for the expenditure side, work to optimize government spending is ongoing. When preparing the budget for the upcoming period, we received requests totaling 36.9 trillion tenge ($82.5 billion), while spending of 30.2 trillion tenge ($67.5 billion) was approved for 2027. In other words, we reduced the expenditure side by 6.7 trillion tenge ($14.9 billion) during the budget review,” Bektenov said.

Earlier, Minister of Finance Madi Takiyev said at a government meeting that Kazakhstan's state budget revenues, excluding transfers, increased by 16.3% year-on-year to 20.2 trillion tenge ($44.76 billion) in January-September 2026.

During the reporting period, the government continued to meet its social obligations and provide support to regions and the real sector of the economy, while implementing infrastructure projects and introducing digital tools to monitor public spending.