ASTANA – Kazakhstan is developing a long-term development plan and a special regulatory framework for Alatau City to lay the foundations for investment, business activity and urban governance, the Prime Minister’s press service reported on Nov. 9.
The Alatau City model. Photo credit: Akorda. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
The Alatau City Council meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, discussed the plan. Participants reviewed a draft 30-year development plan prepared with international consultants from Arup, a London-based multinational firm specializing in engineering and urban planning, based on an assessment of the territory, its economic and demographic potential, and the city’s spatial, transport and engineering infrastructure.
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov chairs a meeting of the Alatau City Council to discuss the city’s long-term development plan. Photo credit: PM’s press service.
The plan aims to create a modern and sustainable city with an attractive investment environment, comfortable living conditions and predictable rules for businesses. It also addresses urban planning, environmental and territorial constraints, the integration of investment projects, and infrastructure needs in line with projected population and employment growth.
The council also reviewed two draft regulatory provisions intended to establish the legal framework for Alatau’s special legal regime. One sets common requirements for regulatory acts, including procedures for their preparation, adoption and implementation, as well as legal review, public consultations and publication in Kazakh, Russian and English.
The second document regulates the activities of legal entities operating as residents of Alatau under the special legal regime. It is intended to improve legal certainty, ensure regulatory transparency and create favorable conditions for business development and investment.
Participants also discussed establishing a Regulatory Commission, a collegial body within the city administration that will help develop Alatau’s regulatory framework. Candidates for independent membership include experts with international experience in law, investment, financial regulation, digital assets and urban planning.
The meeting also covered organizing specialized administrative bodies responsible for land management, urban planning, construction project support, digital asset development and providing services to residents and businesses through a one-stop-shop system.
Following the meeting, Bektenov instructed government agencies to meet established deadlines, accelerate the development of the regulatory framework and take the necessary steps to implement Alatau’s long-term development priorities.
