17 years ago Nazarbayev decreed to declare Akmola a new capital
10:26, 21 October 2014
ASTANA. KAZINFORM Back to 1997, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a decree to declare Akmola a new capital of Kazakhstan starting from December 10. Later it was renamed as Astana.
The city has achieved great success for the past years. Currently, more than 835,000 people live there. The city GDP made KZT 2 trln 700 bln in 2013. Its macroeconomic growth reached 6,5%. Another highlight is that Astana will host EXPO 2017. President Nazarbayev attended the capsule laying ceremony of the exhibition complex in April this year. It will stretch over 174 ha to accommodate various facilities up to 1 mln sq m.