Alatau city will be a "smart" city, consisting of four modern thematic districts located along the Almaty-Konaev highway. This will be a strategic anchor point for the Western Europe-West China international corridors, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), North-South corridors and will benefit from the New Silk Road Strategic Initiative.
The main goals of the project are the implementation of, perhaps, one of the most ambitious projects ever since the independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The construction and comprehensive development of the ultra-modern city Alatau city from 2022 to 2050 will focus on innovation, export, tourism and the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs. It will concentrate on the formation of a new generation of healthy, active, educated citizens of Kazakhstan with a significant improvement in the quality of life. This will in turn lead to the improvement of the country’s demography and result in the creation of conditions that will be imperative for the development of human capital as well as the breakthrough development of the country.
The special legal status of the city of Alatau is enshrined in a decree issued by the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. It provides for a separate institutional management model, direct subordination to the Government of Kazakhstan, and the development of a separate law on the development of the city of Alatau. On this basis, simplified regulatory and economic conditions for residents are being formed.
The project is financed mainly by private investment. Caspian Group is the main initiator and private investor in the project. The state provides the regulatory and infrastructure framework, including the master plan, water, gas, and electricity supply schemes, as well as connections to road and rail infrastructure.
The total area of the city is 88 000 hectares, including parts of the Ili and Talgar districts, as well as the city of Qonaev. The territorial planning has been agreed upon and the master plan for development has been approved.
The planned population of the city is more than 2 million people by 2050, with the creation of over 1 million jobs. Alatau City will become one of the largest urban projects in Central Asia.
As part of an international partnership, the project has already been supported by a number of Asian technology corporations, including KPMG Korea and CSCEC International Construction Corporation Ltd. The master plan concept was developed by Singapore-based Surbana Jurong, a company with extensive experience in master planning, architecture, and full-cycle urban development in the field of infrastructure and urban planning. Over the past 50 years, it has implemented more than 90 projects in 30 countries around the world. The city of Singapore is the company's most successful project.
A Special Economic Zone status will be granted to some Alatau city areas to attract foreign investments for the development of anchor projects. Hence, Alatau city will comprise of 4 main districts which will also include the following:
• The creation of an export-oriented Trade and Logistics Centre;
• Development of a Business Park for small and medium-sized businesses, the IT sector and other financial sectors;
• Development of an integrated Industrial and Logistics Park located near the upcoming airport and railway junctions;
• Creation of an Entertainment and Tourism Centre. This will also include the development of an educational infrastructure and world-class medical tourism as well as the development of international sports tourism where international and regional sports events will be hosted;
• Development of a new International Airport and improved air connectivity to key target markets;
• Creation of a favourable investment climate.
Gate District will be a global financial and business cluster that will serve as a commercial and residential centre for residents of Almaty city and Almaty region. An International Financial Centre will be located here which is designed to attract investment to the Kazakhstan economy by creating a favourable environment for the financial services and capital market sectors, including the securities market, insurance and banking sectors. The area will have a high concentration of offices, banks and other financial institutions.
Golden District will be positioned as an educational and medical cluster. This will mainly comprise of an academic campus, an innovation centre and hospitals.
The medical cluster will provide high quality medical services at affordable prices, serving both local residents and tourists as well as to establish international cooperation and knowledge exchange in order to improve the standards and service quality.
Golden District has great potential for further expansion as a globally recognised educational infrastructure which will attract students from all over Kazakhstan and its neighbouring countries.
Growing District will become an export-oriented Trade and Logistics Centre for various industries with a developed transport infrastructure to stimulate economic growth in the region.
The following types of industries will be developed in the region as well:
Food cluster;
Chemical cluster;
Building materials cluster;
Light industry cluster.
The new Growing District Integrated Industrial and Logistics Centre will be connected to the Khorgos Special Economic Zone along the border it shares with China. This will play an instrumental role in shortening the route between Central Asia and Europe.
Green District will be a full-scale integrated family holiday resort with a market coverage of more than 2 billion people from more than 15 countries living within a 5-hour flight zone.
Green District will become a new and lively tourist destination as part of the all-seasons international tourism initiative, offering a variety of activities for all age groups. An integrated family resort will be located on the shores of the Kapchagay reservoir with exciting entertainment, luxury hotels, shopping centres, gambling zones, exhibition centre, museum, aquarium, theme parks, F1 sports complex, all-weather water park, marina bayfront with yachts, zoo, etc. The Integrated Resort and Leisure Centre will be easily accessible via the new airport and railway station in 2050. It is expected to attract more than 4.3 million tourists annually and it will enhance the tourism sectors in Almaty City and in the Almaty region.
