Kazakh Petroglyphs at Risk

A Chinese investor plans to build a cement plant dangerously close to protected cultural sites, Orda.kz reports.

At the end of May, news broke online that a new cement plant would be built in the Jambyl district, Almaty region. The project is valued at 17.8 billion tenge, with an estimated annual output of over 550,000 tons and roughly 300 employees.

The company behind the construction is ALAZ Stroy, with investment coming from China Gezhouba Group Cement Co., Ltd., part of the Gezhouba Group — one of the world’s largest construction conglomerates.

A Treasure Trove of Petroglyphs

The plant is slated for construction near the village of Tanbalytas, home to around 1,500 people. The surrounding landscape includes a small, salty river (Akkainarsay), gentle hills, and, more importantly, ancient burial mounds, medieval grave sites, and rare petroglyphs.

Orda.kz obtained the results of a historical and cultural assessment by Astana Research Group on the proposed construction site. Their conclusion: the area is rich in archaeological sites and sits dangerously close to cultural landmarks.

Excavations in 2018 uncovered six Bronze Age burial sites. In total, 49 archaeological objects from various historical periods have been documented in the area.

Locals also point to a monument installed in 1999 to commemorate the Battle of Anyraqay — a granite marker reading: “The decisive battle of the great victory in the Dzungarian invasion began here. A thousand bows to the feat of the ancestors.”

While it’s not officially listed as a cultural heritage site, a small protected zone of just four meters was still established around it.

Perhaps the most significant discovery is the Aqqainar petroglyphs, first studied by archaeologists in 2008. The rock faces are covered in images: bulls, hunting scenes, and “sun-headed” figures. Several academic papers have been published on these petroglyphs, and building a cement plant nearby could jeopardize further research.

The Aqqainar area may be one of the largest petroglyph sites in Kazakhstan, with over 6,100 rock carvings discovered so far — and likely many more still undocumented.

These rocks feature petroglyphs dating back to the Bronze Age, including a symbolic triad of horned animals: a mountain goat or argali, a bull, and a deer. Several petroglyphs in the form of Kazakh tamgas (tribal symbols – Ed.) were also discovered. One tamga, in particular, appears to belong to the Saryuysun tribe or one of the four Dulat sub-clans: Botpay, Siqym, Shymyr, or Janys,the researchers wrote. 

Some stones also bear Oirat inscriptions, adding another layer to the area’s historical value. This site is a dense cluster of ancient markings — clear evidence that diverse peoples and tribes have inhabited the Almaty region for centuries.

Yet despite all this, a first-class hazard facility backed by a Chinese corporation is now being proposed just steps away from it all.

After studying the area, experts concluded that any activity threatening historical and cultural sites should not proceed. All protected zones must be properly designated, and any nearby economic development must proceed with extreme caution.

But can a cement plant—an industry that inevitably produces large amounts of dust—truly operate with “special caution”? That’s a question neither officials nor experts have answered.

A Railway Through Ancient Burial Grounds?

Maksat Yesmuratov, head of the Historical and Cultural Heritage Center of Almaty Region, personally inspected the proposed plant site. Experts visited the area four times. They recommended relocating the project, but the only available land is surrounded by private plots.

Since the project itself is private, the state cannot step in and buy the land to move the facility elsewhere.

According to Yesmuratov, the plant itself won’t overlap with protected areas, but railway lines required to transport raw materials and products may. These tracks could run through land that contains cultural landmarks.

Those tracks may run dangerously close to ancient burial sites. Could the company avoid them by using existing roads instead? Possibly. But the Chinese investor believes rail transport will be faster and more cost-effective. And heritage officials say they lack the authority to block the project.

We can’t stop them from building. We can only demand that they preserve the protected area of ​​the burial mounds. The company has an agreement with the Almaty regional Akimat, a memorandum, they’ve shown us the paperwork. We assess the archaeological findings, evaluate, and give recommendations—that’s all we can do. We cannot prohibit anything here,said Yesmuratov.  

Will the Plant Be Built?

At the end of May, LS reported that China Gezhouba Group Cement Co. Ltd had received preliminary approval for a land plot. Orda.kz reached out to the Ministries of Culture and Ecology to clarify the status of the environmental permit.

The Ministry of Culture and Information confirmed that the burial mound, petroglyphs, and ancient cemeteries identified by experts are not included in the official registry of protected monuments.

They did not explain why.

However, they emphasized that even if no officially registered sites are present, previously unidentified heritage sites may still exist.

Construction sites may contain historical and cultural heritage that has not yet been documented. According to Article 30 of the Law on the Protection and Use of Historical and Cultural Heritage, archaeological surveys must be conducted to identify possible historical and cultural heritage sites before land allocation,the ministry stated.  

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Ecology has reminded that historical and cultural monuments are protected not only by a designated buffer zone but also by a development control zone and a natural landscape preservation area.

These protections must be upheld, and responsibility for compliance falls on landowners and leaseholders. As for the proposed cement plant, authorities say it cannot proceed without a special environmental permit — one that the Chinese investor has not obtained as of early June.

Under Kazakhstan’s Environmental Code, cement production requires a mandatory assessment of its impact on historical and cultural heritage sites, including architectural and archaeological ones. As of now, no materials related to the proposed cement facility by ALAZ Stroy LLP in the Jambyl district have been submitted to the ministry for state environmental review, said Vice Minister of Ecology Zhomart Aliyev. 

Konysbek Bayedilov, head of the Department of Ecology for Almaty Region, confirmed that as of June 1, ALAZ Stroy had not applied for an environmental permit.

A Dusty Track Record

This is not the first time the Chinese Gezhouba Group has sparked concern over its cement production projects in Kazakhstan.

In October last year, the Qyzylorda Region Court ruled that a Gezhouba-built cement plant in the village of Kodamanov posed health risks due to high levels of dust. Villagers were not fully informed of the risks before construction, and the plant was built much too close to homes.

Cement production is considered a first-class hazard activity. The sanitary protection zone between the plant and residential buildings must be at least 1,000 meters. But in this case, it was just 500 meters, the court ruling stated. 

Gezhouba Shieli Cement, the company operating the facility, claimed the safety buffer had been reduced to 450 meters under a Health Ministry order — but the court found the company at fault.

In Kodamanov, houses were blanketed in cement dust. 

Original Author: Nikita Drobny