Kazakhstan set for building boom

Kazakhstan’s government has announced huge construction investment in 2015 as part of the Nurly Zhol state spending programme, with over 130 billion tenge ($700 million) assigned to house building and new schools.

Speaking at a recent press briefing in Astana, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Finance Minister Ruslan Dalenov revealed that 112 billion tenge ($600 million) would be spent on residential construction and communal services and 17 billion tenge ($90 million) on the new schools. Other areas that will receive cash as part of the programme include infrastructure projects (207 billion tenge in 2015, or $1.1 billion) and ‘joint projects with international financial organisations’ (40 billion tenge, or $220 million). All in all, 686 billion tenge ($3.7 billion) has been assigned to Nurly Zhol for this year from Kazakhstan’s national fund.

This fresh injection of funds is a further boost to house building in Kazakhstan, which has enjoyed a good start to 2015 - Kazakhstan’s state statistical service recently announced a 14.6% increase in housebuilding in January and February 2015 compared to the first two months of last year. The country's government has also assigned 130 billion tenge ($700 million) to refinance mortgages given out over the last decade, which will give a further boost to Kazakhstan's property market.

The Nurly Zhol scheme, which means ‘Path to the Future’ in the Kazakh language, is a major programme of state spending to inject new momentum into Kazakhstan’s economy and negate the effects of global slowdown. Infrastructure is a particular focus, with new transport corridors to connect the capital Astana to all regions of Kazakhstan, and boosting the building sector is also a key part of the scheme.

This is not the first time Kazakhstan has tapped into its considerable cash reserves, built up from oil sales, to stimulate its building sector. Last year, the country’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev earmarked an extra $220 million of oil fund cash to spend on building work in Astana for the EXPO 2017 global exhibition event.  

Another exhibition event that can open up new business for international firms is AstanaBuild – the capital’s leading trade event for building and interiors professionals, where 4,000 local buyers come to sign deals and choose suppliers every year. Find out more about how AstanaBuild can help get you into Kazakhstan’s booming building market.

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