Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Bektenov, during his working trip to Abay Region, familiarized himself with projects for the development of the administrative business center of the city of Semey and the master plan for the development of the Lake Alakol coastline. These initiatives are being implemented as part of the republican campaign “Respect for Abay”, initiated by the Head of State and dedicated to the 180th anniversary of Abay Kunanbayuly, El.kz reports citing primeminister.kz.
The Prime Minister was presented with the master plan for the development of the Lake Alakol coastline, aimed at creating a modern tourist and recreational zone.
Akim of the region Berik Uali reported that 49 projects are planned to be implemented by 2029 as part of the development of the region’s tourism industry. In 2025, 1 billion tenge has been allocated for the development of Alakol coastline infrastructure. These funds are directed toward shore protection works, landscaping, and street repairs. In 2026, 10 billion tenge is planned for these purposes. The funds will be used to modernize engineering and transport infrastructure, as well as to introduce digital solutions, including video surveillance systems and stable mobile internet coverage.
Work is underway to adjust the general plan of the tourist zone, which provides for increasing its area from 300 to 3,000 hectares and raising its carrying capacity to 75,000 tourists per day. The adjustment is scheduled to be completed by September of this year. Projects for the construction of power transmission lines, water supply and sanitation systems, and transport and utilities infrastructure facilities are also envisaged.
In 2025, 4 tourism development projects totaling 8.9 billion tenge were implemented in the region.
The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of the comprehensive development of the region, including the modernization of social infrastructure, tourism development, and increasing investment attractiveness.
Across the country, tourism infrastructure is actively developing, including the modernization of accommodation facilities and improvement of transport accessibility. Thanks to the measures taken, the industry showed growth in 2025: the number of domestic tourists increased from 9.1 million to 10.1 million, and foreign tourists — from 1.3 million to 1.4 million. Revenues from accommodation facilities reached 350.6 billion tenge, while investment volume grew by 32.6% to 1.26 trillion tenge.
The project for the Administrative Business Center (ABC) of Semey is also planned. The total area of the territory exceeds 1,000 hectares. The project envisages the creation of a new modern residential district with developed social and business infrastructure. From 2026 to 2029, residential complexes with a total area of over 3 million square meters for 75,000 residents are to be built, along with more than 40 social, commercial, and administrative facilities, including 17 schools and kindergartens.
Olzhas Bektenov stressed the need to ensure high quality of urban planning solutions and effective coordination of the master plan implementation by the regional akimat.
