OREANDA-NEWS. April 09, 2009. According to the World Bank, the global economy growth may decline 1-2% in the current year, said Kazakhstan’s Prime Minister Karim Massimov at a plemary sitting of the national Senate, reported the Official website http://en.government.kz.

According to the Prime Minister, Kazakhstan will also see its growth slowing. Estimated GDP growth in January declined 3.2%; industrial production output for the first two months fell by 3.2%, with construction dipping by 11.5%. “Unemployment in January stood at 6.9%, and at 7.1% in February”, K. Massimov said.

“Currently the Government is implementing its anti-crisis package. Our efforts are targeted at removing barriers so that the economy could start working effectively. In the first place we need to fine-tune the banking system. The four major banks of Kazakhstan have been allocated KZT 480 billion”, the Prime Minister said.

“Another measure is protection of those involved in housing construction pre-financed by the future property owners. We need to support the construction industry, making sure that banks extend loans [for these purposes]. This is the way to solve problems of the people in wait for their pre-financed housing to be completed”, the Prime Minister said.