The Almaty City Mobility Department has published an announcement for a competition to develop a feasibility study for the first line of light rail transport (LRT). According to vlast.kz, around 344 million tenge has been allocated for this. The implementation period is 8 months after the contract is signed.
"The preparation of the feasibility study is aimed at determining the timelines and cost of implementing the project for the construction and operation of the first LRT line, as well as mitigating the risks of project abandonment at later stages due to incorrect forecasts for costs, payback, and technical feasibility", the technical specification states.
It was previously reported that, according to the city's master plan, the government plans to build 76 km of LRT lines by 2040. In turn, Deputy Akim of Almaty Askar Amrin stated that the first line would be launched in 2027.
In 2022, the Akim of Almaty, Yerbolat Dossayev, said that the LRT line would be of a tram type - without supports. He noted that it would run along Tole Bi Street, connecting the lines from the Sayakhat bus station to the Aksai microdistrict.
For context, the topic of LRT was first raised in 2003 by the former Akim of Almaty, Viktor Khrapunov. Then, in October 2015, when the city's tram service was discontinued, the then Akim, Bauyrzhan Baibek, stated that a modern high-speed tram would be launched to replace the old transport. At the same time, he promised that construction of the LRT lines would begin in 2016.
Despite this, it was only in August 2018 that the first stage of the competition was announced to search for potential private partners. In early 2019, the akimat announced its completion. However, later the ex-Akim of Almaty, Bakytzhan Sagintayev, stated that the project was too expensive for the city.
At the same time, it is reported that in October 2021, Urban Forum Kazakhstan (UFK) appealed to the country's president, arguing that Sagintayev was "unable to convey to the government the essence of the socio-economic effect of the LRT project". UFK representatives also emphasised that the ex-Akim had significantly inflated the cost of the project.
It is worth noting that the history of the construction of the capital's LRT has been accompanied by numerous scandals and contradictory statements. For reference, in Astana, the construction of the first LRT supports began back in 2017. According to 24.kz, by 2019 only 15% of the construction and installation work on the project had been completed. Overall, the consortium of Chinese companies provided services worth $313 million, of which only $86 million has been paid. Thus, the debt to the contractors amounted to $203 million.
In 2021, seven defendants were convicted in a case concerning embezzlement during the implementation of the Astana LRT project. The ex-Deputy Akim of the capital, Kanat Sultanbekov, and the former head of the company Astana LRT, Talgar Ardan, were placed on the international wanted list.
In September 2022, the ex-Akim of Astana, Altai Kulginov, stated that Chinese partners were ready to complete the Astana LRT within two years, subject to continuous funding. At that time, the figure mentioned was $577 million for the entire project. He reported that 4 billion tenge per year would be required for the technical maintenance of the LRT.
In April 2023, the Akim of Astana, Zhenis Kassymbek, announced the resumption of construction work. Over 50 billion tenge was even allocated for this. At the same time, assurances were given that completing the entire project would require no less than 200 billion. And in November 2023, Transport Minister Marat Karabayev stated that it was planned to request 150 billion tenge annually for the LRT project. He also confirmed the likelihood of financing this "long-running" project from the National Fund.