In light of the December announcement by Kazakh officials to extend the metro in Almaty, two new stations may be opened to commuters this spring. The city is anticipating the Moscow and Sairan stations, both of which are under construction, although the official opening has been postponed due to weather conditions, according to tengrinews.kz.
“The question of beautification is our main concern now. Basic construction of the Moscow and Sairan stations has been completed. We cannot start planting trees and continue asphalting till the end of the winter season, so we will start the next construction phase in spring 2015. We expect two stations to be opened in late March or April, after the completed construction work is accepted,” said Aidyn Orazkhanov, head of the metro administration said.
He also described the appearance of the newly-constructed stations. The Moscow station will feature a Russian motif and have a Kremlin Wall. Sairan, which in Kazakh means “joy,” will feature designs that highlight the spirit of teenagers.
“We have also scheduled the construction of two other stations, Dostyk and Saryarka. The Dostyk station will be located at the Abai Avenue and Momishuly Street crossing,” said Orazkhanov.
The process of land acquisition and house demolition in the construction areas has also affected the deadlines, he added. The exact date when Dostyk and Saryarka open has not yet been determined, as bargaining with tenants may take additional time.
“Inhabitants and tenants do not always accept the proposed amount of financial compensation to leave the house needed to be demolished. Sometimes we have to cope with lawsuits,” explained Orazkhanov.
According to tengrinews.kz, Orazkhanov said the installationof metal detectorswas not incorporated into theoriginal draft. Taking into account the underground terrorist attacks that occurred in Moscow and Minsk, however, the decision was made to incorporate preventive measures and put metal detectors into operation at the stations.
“This is a safety measure, I think it won’t hurt,” concluded the official.
