Kazakh capital to build 178 new schools by 2035 to match growing demand

Under the plan, 206 new kindergartens with a total capacity of 159,194 places will be required by 2035 to fully meet demand for preschool education.

The need for school places is also expected to increase significantly. By 2030, Astana is projected to require 182,423 school places, with that figure rising to 256,170 places by 2035.

To meet the growing demand, the General Plan provides for construction of 123 schools during the first phase, followed by another 55 schools by 2035, bringing the total to 178 new schools.

The capital city also seeks to expand educational capacity by reconstructing and enlarging existing schools and kindergartens, in addition to constructing new facilities.

According to the developers of the General Plan, these measures are expected to fully cover the city’s regulatory standard-based need for school and preschool places by 2035.

The planned construction takes into account Astana’s continued population growth. The General Plan projects that the capital will have around 1.97 million residents by 2030 and roughly 2.275 million by 2035. Compared with the baseline population, this represents an increase of around 745,000 people.

The expansion of education infrastructure is part of a broader development strategy for the capital. By 2035, the city also plans to nearly double the total length of its roads and construct 30 new transport interchanges.

Earlier, Qazinform reported over 380,000 first-graders would start school in Kazakhstan in the academic year 2026-2027.