President Tokayev: Kazakhstan needs to switch focus of special economic zones to manufacturing, IT and innovations

At a meeting on the further development of Astana, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev spoke about the need to consistently increase the city’s economic potential. According to him, in order to ensure the sustainable economic growth of the country’s capital, the work of special economic zones should be revised.

“It is time to redefine operation of special economic zones, focusing on the development of the manufacturing industry, IT sector and new technologies. We need to create high quality jobs that require an appropriate infrastructure. To put it mildly, the work in this direction leaves much to be desired. The mayor’s office has been unable to complete the construction of the infrastructure of the Industrial Park No. 1 for ten years, although it is already 95 percent full of participants,” Tokayev said.

The Head of State called the consistent development of the Astana’s agglomeration a strategically important area. The President also highlighted the importance of encouraging close cooperation in trade and economic, as well as transport and logistics spheres between the capital city and its suburbs. The potential of the villages surrounding Astana will be increased by new manufacturing and infrastructure facilities.

“The officials of Astana city and the Akmola region should put efforts into improving the well-being of the population living in the suburbs. The Astana’s urban agglomeration should be comfortable for attracting investments, introducing innovations and employing qualified specialists. It is necessary to step up work in this direction,” the President added.

The President believes that the capital should move to a new development model and transform into an innovative city of the future. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted that attention has to be paid to new digital approaches to urban management, which are being intensively introduced in the world. Also, he emphasized the need to revise the development strategy of Astana and outline the main directions of its comprehensive development. President Tokayev instructed the Astana Mayor's office to hold public hearings, draw up the capital’s new master plan, and submit it to the Government until the end of the year. The Presidential Administration will ensure it is fulfilled well and on time.