Nazarbayev does not want to make Astana multimillion city

Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev is not planning to make Astana a multimillion city, Tengrinews.kz reports citing the President as saying at the meeting on Astana development. “Astana’s population is at around 800 thousand citizens. I don’t have any intention to raise it to millions,” Nazarbayev said. He stressed that new buildings and accommodation would be built in Astana but not to boost population growth. “New buildings and accommodation will be built not to make the population larger but to develop the city. Every building has to have a special architectural appearance that improves the city, instead of erecting dormitories just like in the Khrushchev’s period (Khrushchyovka is a type of low-cost, cement-paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment building which was developed in the USSR during the early 1960s). The government has to work with the city administration to see to ways of limiting the unwanted population growth. Every building has to be unique in terms of architecture and life standards. The buildings should to be constructed and lands allocated only under such conditions,” the President said. By Baubek Konyrov