Residents of Almaty have spoken out against the construction of the RAMS Beyond Almaty residential complex and have sent a collective appeal to the city's akimat. In the petition, residents are demanding the project be cancelled and the site at the intersection of Seifullin and Timiryazev streets be turned into a park zone.
The initiative's authors write on the website Epetition.kz that the construction of a 40-storey building and five 10-storey blocks will lead to an overload of the transport and social infrastructure in the area, where there is already a shortage of parking spaces and green spaces.
Residents emphasise that the infill development contradicts previously established restrictions on building structures over nine storeys high, and that the decision to implement the project was taken without proper public consultation.
The appeal notes that hearings on this matter were held without adequate public information, and meeting minutes were not published, which, in the citizens' view, violates the principle of transparency.
"We, the residents of the city of Almaty, are the community. Our position as a community is that the 'RAMS Beyond Almaty' complex project is not significant to us and, accordingly, is not of public significance. Moreover, considering everything described above, we consider the construction of the 'RAMS Beyond Almaty' complex at the intersection of Seifullin and Timiryazev streets to be socially dangerous!" - the statement reads.
The initiative group makes the following demands: abandonment of the 'RAMS Beyond Almaty' project at the specified site, returning the land to the category of public green spaces, creating a park on the site, and relocating the construction to another area where there is a need for business centres and hotels.
It is worth recalling that in July, Mazhilis deputy Sergei Ponomarev spoke out against the construction of the RAMS Beyond Almaty residential complex. He noted that the construction company 'RAMS' is not fulfilling its promises.
According to him, company representatives previously promised to build a two-kilometre public garden alongside the 'RAMS City' residential complex along the Malaya Almatinka River, from Zhandosov Street to Utepov Street, but never built anything. The Mazhilis member expressed concerns that something similar could happen here as well.