Alatau will become a city with an independent ecosystem

Mar 20, 2026

At a joint session of the two chambers of Parliament, deputies approved the first reading of the draft Constitutional Law “On the special status of the city of Alatau.” This was announced by the Mazhilis press service on Friday, March 20.

According to the document, Alatau is viewed as an independent ecosystem with a separate financial model, a special governance regime, and an institutional framework of a qualitatively new level.

“This will allow for the formation of a single center of accountability for results—the Alatau City Authority. This refers to an administration in the form of a state fund, which will become a state body not part of the government but headed by a council under the leadership of the prime minister,” commented the lower chamber of Parliament.

At the same time, members of the Maslikhat and city administration staff will ensure the city’s day-to-day operations in the social, municipal, and political spheres.

The development of Alatau is initially conceived as the creation of a full-fledged Smart City—an intelligent city operating on the “Digital by default” principle. All key management processes will be designed in a digital format with deep integration of artificial intelligence-based solutions.

The draft law also establishes the priority of special tax regulations within the city’s territory.

A ban is introduced on the transfer of funds from Alatau’s budget to the national and other budgets until 2050 or until the city achieves budgetary self-sufficiency.

The draft law also establishes a consolidated budget for the city of Alatau, comprising the local budget and the state fund budget. The local budget will be focused on meeting current and social obligations, while state fund resources will be directed toward financing infrastructure and long-term development projects.

Under the bill, land relations in the city will be governed by a special regime. At the same time, plans are in place to establish the Alatau Land Fund, and the introduction of land into circulation will be facilitated through incentive-based taxation.

Land plots for investment projects will be provided to Alatau residents on the basis of licenses or contracts.

The development of the city of Alatau will be carried out based on a strategy, a 30-year conceptual plan, and a 15-year urban development plan applicable to all projects. To ensure predictable conditions for investors, the conceptual plan may be revised no more than once every 10 years, and the urban development plan no more than once every 5 years.

The draft law also provides investment protection, prohibits discrimination, and gives investors the choice between the courts of the AIFC and international arbitration.