Alatau City takes shape as Kazakhstan's new growth engine

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Olzhas Bektenov, chaired on Tuesday a meeting of the Alatau City Development Council as part of the implementation of the President’s instructions.

The meeting discussed the progress of investment projects, the pace of infrastructure development, as well as issues related to the legal ecosystem and approaches to building high-quality human capital. Opening the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasized that the President pays special attention to the development of Alatau City.

“The Head of State has designated Alatau City as a new center of long-term economic development and personally oversees the progress of work. Moreover, the core principles under which the city will develop have been incorporated into the draft of the new Constitution. The emergence of special legal regimes in the country meets Kazakhstan’s long-term economic interests and opens new opportunities for attracting investment. The development of Alatau City is an innovative solution aimed at creating a modern digital city of accelerated development with a special status,” Olzhas Bektenov noted.

At the same time, it was particularly emphasized that the introduction of special legal regimes does not affect the country’s administrative-territorial structure. The principle of territorial integrity remains unchanged and is a key one, as evidenced by the enshrined provision in the first section of the draft new Constitution, “Fundamentals of the Constitutional System.”

Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev reported on the ongoing work to develop Alatau City. At present, the Parliament is considering the draft Constitutional Law “On the Special Status of Alatau City.”

Along with the formation of the institutional framework, practical work is underway to launch system-forming projects that create an attractive environment for investors and generate new growth points for the city’s economy. Among the priorities are the construction of the Iconic Complex multifunctional facility as the architectural and business core of the city, and the KAIST Kazakhstan Technological University as a center for training highly qualified personnel and developing advanced technologies.

Overall, the investment portfolio comprises 44 projects with a total value of approximately 1.8 trillion tenge in industry, logistics, agro-processing, services, and the creative industry. These will enable the creation of over 30,000 jobs and form a sustainable economic environment for Alatau City.

Attention was paid to the development of engineering and transport infrastructure. A phased implementation of projects is underway in several areas:

• power supply – construction of the “Arna” 220/110 kV substation, design of six substations;
• water supply and wastewater disposal – expansion of the “Yntymak” water intake capacity, construction of three water intake facilities, a wastewater treatment plant, and feeder collectors;
• gas supply – design of the construction of a new automated gas distribution station (AGDS) “Gate City-1,” completion of construction of the “Zhetigen” AGDS;
• road infrastructure – documentation is being developed for the construction of a road with an overpass in the Growing and Gate Districts, and within EPC-F contracts, the construction of a road with an overpass and engineering networks in the Golden District is envisaged.

Acting Chief Executive Officer of the state fund Alatau City Authority, Alisher Adykadyrov, reported on key documents elaborated for the development of Alatau City, such as the conceptual plan, urban planning plan, and development strategy.

The implementation of the conceptual plan will determine the city's strategic and spatial development. The urban planning plan and development strategy will provide detailed zoning and development parameters, as well as requirements for the quality of the living environment, including building height restrictions, landscaping and improvement standards, ensuring ventilation of the territory, and accessibility for private vehicles and parking. The development strategy will serve as the basis for approving sectoral acts and the investment plan, as well as the foundation for granting preferences to ensure accelerated development of Alatau City.

Approaches to forming high-quality human capital were considered separately. Taking into account the successful experience of Shenzhen, Dubai, and Singapore, a phased model for human capital formation in Alatau is proposed. This model is based on the principles of managed and selective inflow of labor resources with a priority on quality.

Among the key benchmarks are linking migration policy with the needs of the economy, institutional regulation of employment, and creating conditions to ensure the highest possible share of Kazakhstani specialists in highly qualified and managerial segments of the labor market through systematic reproduction of skills and competencies within the country.

Following the meeting, the Council supported the presented approaches and directions for the development of Alatau City. It was noted that the development of independent regulatory acts for fully shaping the city’s ecosystem is a priority task. To coordinate and support this work, an Operational Committee was created for the timely consideration of necessary issues and prompt decision-making.

It was emphasized that the development of all regulatory acts should be oriented toward clarity and transparency for investors. In this regard, along with domestic experts, representatives of international organizations are to be involved in the development and expert review of Alatau-related acts.

The Prime Minister noted that a successful proactive investment policy requires dynamic development of engineering infrastructure, especially for large anchor projects. A series of instructions was given to ministries jointly with the Akimat (Administration) of the Almaty Region on the development of Alatau City’s engineering infrastructure. Several organizational and financial decisions were also adopted.

As Qazinform reported earlier, Kazakh MPs set up a commission for the Alatau City special status bill.