ASTANA – Over the next 26 months, 26 construction projects for EXPO 2017 will be completed.
Recently, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev laid a capsule at the construction site of Astana’s EXPO 2017 exhibition complex. The campus includes buildings containing 4,000 apartments, a hotel, a congress hall and an indoor city that stretches for more than 500 metres. A retail and entertainment complex will be built in the covered area. The main exposition pavilion is spherical in design with a diametre of 80 metres and a height of 100 metres. Preparatory work for the construction of the exhibition was discussed at a recent briefing given at the Central Communications Service (CCS).
The exhibition area covers 240,000 square metres, on which 26 facilities will be built, including international, corporate and themed pavilions, residential complexes, a school, a kindergarten, a hotel, a meeting hall, a conference and press centre, an expo office, an Energy Hall, commercial and retail areas, an indoor city, an expo plaza and an art centre.
Ancillary facilities, hotels, offices, warehouses and accommodations and places for social gatherings located across 750,000 square metres will cater to all attendee needs during the exhibition. According to advisor to president of Astana EXPO 2017 company Advisor Kanagat Tlemissov, after completion of the international event, all of the new buildings will be integrated into the greater city and local economy to meet Astana’s increasing demands.
“Kazakhstan’s National Pavilion will be a unique spherical architectural spectacle that symbolises EXPO 2017,” said Director of the Architecture Department of Astana EXPO 2017 company Kanat Mukhashev.
According to him, the expo complex will occupy 173.4 hectares located between all of the city’s major transport arteries, including Kabanbai Batyr Avenue and Orynbor Avenue to the east and west, the Hussein Bin Talal Street to the north and Taul Ryskulov Street to the south. The main phase of construction is scheduled for 2015, 2016 and the beginning of 2017. Participating countries will be responsible for the installation and arrangement of their pavilions.
Well-known benefactor and traveler Sapar Iskakov spoke at the same briefing about his promotional world tour for EXPO 2017. For four months, Iskakov, with his granddaughter, a tenth grade student and two television journalists, visited 26 countries, including the UK, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, China and others. As a civil engineer, Iskakov has been involved in building for many years. He built Astana’s Tіlep Qobyz Saraiy concert hall.
At the CCS briefing, he thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Malaysia, Singapore and the UAE as well as the Kazakhstan embassies in other countries for their active assistance in organising his series of meetings during the trip. The businessman presented the Astana EXPO 2017 flag, which he has carried across the countries he has visited.
