ALMATY – Kazakhstan is betting that Alatau City can evolve from a planned development outside Almaty into a regional economic hub. Backed by a special legal regime and billions of dollars in proposed investment, the project seeks to combine manufacturing, logistics, technology and finance with new transport and digital infrastructure, but its success will depend on whether ambition can be translated into sustained investment and effective governance.
Photo credit: The Almaty Region’s administration. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times. The latest government review on Aug. 28 shows that the project is moving from planning toward implementation. Alatau City’s investment pipeline has expanded to 67 projects worth nearly $6.9 billion, with the potential to create around 55,000 jobs.
Projects involving PepsiCo, Sunny Paper, Mars Petcare KZ, Griffin Logopark, DanaFlex and G-Trans Service are at different stages of implementation, while additional projects are being developed with Korean and Chinese partners. The scale of the investment pipeline is only one measure of the project’s potential.
The larger question is whether Alatau City can generate a new concentration of economic activity rather than simply shift some activity from neighbouring Almaty. From a new city to a new economic center The government has given Alatau City an unusually broad mandate.
PepsiCo and Sunny Paper are in the active implementation phase, while work has begun on production and logistics projects involving Mars Petcare KZ, Griffin Logopark, DanaFlex and G-Trans Service. Other proposed projects include sustainable aviation fuel and green energy initiatives by Full Vision Capital, a branch of South Korea’s KAIST research institute, logistics and data-center projects involving CIMC and a high-tech agricultural complex by Sinomach.
Several Korean companies are also being considered for projects in investment, food production, hospitality, energy, urban air mobility, smart mobility and hydrogen technologies. Yernar Serik. Photo credit:senate.parlam.kz Yernar Serik, a trading and investment analyst, founder of the Tradereport Telegram channel, said Alatau City has the potential to become a new center of economic activity, particularly in sectors where Kazakhstan is seeking to diversify its economy.
“For Kazakhstan’s economy, where a significant portion of business, capital, and human resources is concentrated in Almaty and Astana, the emergence of another major center would be an important structural change,” Serik told the Astana Times. “At the same time, I wouldn’t contrast Alatau City with Almaty.
A more realistic model is a polycentric agglomeration, where Almaty remains the financial, educational, and cultural center, while Alatau gains its own specialization,” he added. According to Serik, Alatau’s proximity to Almaty could itself become one of its advantages, providing access to the country’s largest consumer market, human capital, airport, universities and established business environment.