Agglomerations of four cities in Kazakhstan will cost $4 billion, Tengrinews correspondent reports citing the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan.
The Ministry informed that agglomerations would be created around Astana, Almaty, Aktobe and Shymkent, and to do this 729.9 billion tenge (about $4 billion) would be allocated as part of the Regions Development Program until 2020.
Earlier Bolat Zhamishev, Chairman of the Board of Development Bank of Kazakhstan, said that all cities in the country would be divided into three categories.
Agglomerations of four cities in Kazakhstan will cost $4 billion, Tengrinews correspondent reports citing the Ministry of National Economy of Kazakhstan.
The Ministry informed that agglomerations would be created around Astana, Almaty, Aktobe and Shymkent, and to do this 729.9 billion tenge (about $4 billion) would be allocated as part of the Regions Development Program until 2020.
Earlier Bolat Zhamishev, Chairman of the Board of Development Bank of Kazakhstan, said that all cities in the country would be divided into three categories.
Astana, Almaty, Shymkent and Aktobe would be the cities of the first category and their agglomerations will eventually be turned into metropolitan areas. Administrative centers of each of Kazakhstan's 14 Oblasts plus Semey and Turkestan cities will designated into the second category. Cities of the third level are promising small towns, supporting rural and border areas.
The main criteria for the first category are demographic capacity of the cities, migratory flows and resource base, logistics capacity (geographical location, proximity to transport corridors and connections) and economic potential (development of industry, science, labor market).
By 2020, agglomerations will have about 680 kilometres of their heating networks upgraded, of which 346 km in Almaty, 163 km in Astana, and the rest in Shymkent and Aktobe.
The Ministry also informed that Almaty agglomeration zone would include surrounding towns like Talgar, Yesik, Kaskelen, Kapchagai and adjoining villages. The zone of Shymkent city agglomeration would include Lenger and Arys towns bordering with the city. Aktobe agglomeration would include the town of Alga, as well as Khromtau and Kandyagash.
Writing by Dinara Urazova, editing by Tatyana Kuzmina