The town has been preparing for the event thoroughly. Its central streets can hardly be recognized, the metallurgists’ culture center was overhauled for the first time in its 30-year-old history – 402mn tenge was allocated within the “roadmap” for new roofing, refurbishment of all its offices and studios, lobbies, development of the adjacent area.

The minaret of a new mosque for 300 people with 15 halls and a madrasah towers above the living quarters; 358.9bn tenge for its construction was allocated within a memorandum between the town administration and “Kazakhmys” corporation.

Sunrays are dancing on the domes of a brand new Orthodox church consecrated ahead of the celebrations by the Archbishop of Astana and Almaty, Alexander. The temple was erected within the program of business’s social responsibility on “Kazakhmys” means in keeping with the corporation’s memorandum with the oblast administration.

Temirtau’s life is unthinkable without its steelworks – the town’s principal employer. Its birth is the birthday of the town: July 3rd a first blast furnace was blown out giving first home cast-iron.

-That day was a major event in the lives of all Temirtau dwellers,- recalls Vladimir Kolbasa, a veteran of Kazakhstan’s Magnitka, a USSR honored metallurgist, the holder of the orders of “Badge of Honor” and “Parasat”. –Almost all shifts, builders and installers were at the meeting – around 30-40 thousand people, when they saw Kazakhstan’s first cast-iron there was a chorus of “Hurrahs!”

Yesterday the working town was marking its anniversary. The celebrations naturally started from the steelworks. In the morning there was a jubilee casting at №4 blast furnace. Participation in it was a main item on President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s visiting agenda. It was a meeting with his youth and recollections of his being a keeper in №3 team and participation in the casting of Kazakhstan’s first blast furnace.

That was the beginning. And the adjacent area had not been that cozy and clean as it was yesterday. The President’s cortege pulled in the blast-furnace department where he was cheered by Karmet steelworks’ employees and the veterans of the first casting on July 3rd, 1960 – Stepan Makuhin, Vladimir Kolbasa, Anatoliy Lyashenko, Vladislav Yamushintsev, Anatoliy Kukalo.

The jubilee casting took place in the fourth blast-furnace - the youngest in the works and designed for 1mn 800 thousand tons cast-iron a year. It employs 64 people, has its own museum and a photo of the head of state with his veteran friends will have its place in it.

Nursultan Nazarbayev then talked with the metallurgists, who thanked him for peaceful life and stability, his tireless work and care. After it the President headed for the metallurgists’ culture center to greet a meeting also attended by guests from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Czech Republic, Bosnia and Israel. He congratulated the town and oblast dwellers on the jubilee of Kazakhstan’s Magnitka.

The President was highly appreciative of the event: “What did the place look like 50 years ago? It was a small settlement, a tent town for thousands of young people who had come here from all the parts of the Soviet Union. We built up and launched the first blast furnace in two years. It was really a deed committed by a team of builders, assemblers, maintenance men, metallurgists. I am proud of having been part and parcel of that historical casting. I am proud of being a metallurgist. My character was hardened here, I learnt a lot and found true friends.

I was lucky to work together with such wonderful people as Oleg Tishchenko, Alexander Korkin, Oleg Soskovets, Vladimir Kauts, Mahmud Akbiyev, Argen Zhunusov and especially those who I worked and studied together – Kabidolla Sarekenov, Vladimir Kolbasa, Toleutai Suleimenov”.

The head of state reminded of the hardships the steelworks had to go through until it was saved by a foreign investor. –Of course there were lots of problems with export including, as at that time the steelworks had no access to foreign markets. But soon its high-quality metal was acknowledged by the world’s industrial community. And it is certainly due to the leadership of “ArselorMittalTemirtau”, - Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

–In the past years hundreds of millions dollars were invested in the works’ development. Thanks to investments it was reconstructed and re-equipped, modern technologies were launched. For the moment the company has a Strategic development plan up to 2015 envisaging further upgrading of the current productions and construction of new additional ecology-friendly capacities”.

According to the plan the steel volumes are to grow from 4 to 6mn tons a year, i.e. by 50%. With the construction of the second works the steel production will raise up to 10mn tons. This year alone $400mn will be invested in its development. And this is just the beginning of a big project for development and upgrading of “ArselorMittalTemirtau”.

Shortly put the steelworks stays the country’s iron-industry flagman and will make a sizable input in implementation of the accelerated industrial-innovative development program up to 2020.

Further on the state leader focused on the country’s economic and social achievements and the scaled goal of its people building up “a new society based on national ideals” with “reigning peace and accord”. These accomplishments were highly appreciated at the international arena and it is not accidental that Kazakhstan is currently chairing in such an authoritative organization as the OSCE.

Having coped with the crisis our state is moving ahead with the AIID program and “Roadmap for business-2020” which is to be implemented this year with 30bn tenge from the republican budget.

-I frequently say that Temirtau is my working homeland and Magnitka is my start site. This is my family’s hometown too. It will be no exaggeration to name Temirtau a town of our youth, honor and glory. These my words can be repeated by my peers, co-workers, friends of youth. These people can be rightly named a “steel generation” not only because they built and worked at the steelworks. They have steel characters and invincible will and purposefulness.

Nursultan Nazarbayev handed RK state awards to a group of workers for their outstanding personal input in construction of Kazakhstan’s Magnitka, Temirtau and the country’s industrial development. This is how the President’s two-day working visit to Karaganda oblast rounded off.

Natalia Ryzhkova

Temirtau

Photo: Sergey Bondarenko, Bolatbek Otarbayev