China's Infrastructure Opportunity: The Integrated Development of Almaty, Alatau, and Kunayev Cities – Government Plans to Build Light Rail Transit Routes
From Kazakhstan International News Agency: The Almaty Metro will not be extended to Alatau City. Deputy Prime Minister Hanat Pozhymbayev stated on the 21st that a light rail transit system is planned for this direction instead of constructing a metro.
At a special press conference on the implementation progress of the national leader’s instructions regarding the Alatau City project, Pozhymbayev pointed out that due to Alatau City’s current small population size, building a metro line here is currently economically unfeasible.
"It's too early to talk about extending the metro now. Alatau City’s total population has just exceeded 50,000, and there is no immediate need to extend the metro line here. According to the overall plan, the government intends to build a light rail line connecting Almaty (a directly administered city), Alatau (a new special economic zone city), and Kunayev (the capital of Almaty Region). Additionally, we are also considering advanced transportation solutions such as air-cushion maglev trains, and we are currently collaborating with top global expert teams," Pozhymbayev said.
He emphasized that the government aims to select a transportation solution among these three cities that ensures efficient commuting while minimizing operational costs.
Pozhymbayev also stressed that even with future population growth, traffic congestion in the region will be effectively controlled.
"The master plan for Alatau City was developed by the globally renowned planning firm Surbana Jurong, which has participated in large-scale urban development projects in Singapore and many other countries. Currently, another experienced institution is working on refining the details of this plan’s urban layout and transportation infrastructure. We have fully learned from past mistakes in other investment projects, treating those failures as warnings to ensure our city construction avoids detours. Therefore, we do not worry about future traffic congestion," Pozhymbayev added.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865861656989696/
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