There was a meeting on development of the Almaty city

- For a quarter of a century the city's economy grew 100 times, the volume of production in the sphere of small and medium-sized business increased 130 times, the area of the city and housing stock increased 2 times.

We are witnessing the transition from the era of between countries competition to the competition of between cities. Today 600 cities produce 2/3 of world GDP, - said Nursultan Nazarbayev.

The President of Kazakhstan noted the improving infrastructure of Almaty , i.e. over the past two years, 100 thousand trees were planted in the city, 42 km of the irrigation network were rebuilt, more than 60 km of bicycle paths were built. He also paid an attention to the increase in the number of tourists visiting to the city.

- Today an every second foreign tourist visits to Almaty. The city has a well-developed network of hotels, theaters, museums and sports facilities. This year, there is an increase in the number of tourists, including through the holding of the international exhibition EXPO-2017. Its successful holding raised the authority not only of Astana and Almaty, but of the whole of Kazakhstan as a whole, "Nursultan Nazarbayev said.

The head of state noted that Almaty would forever remain the golden cradle of our Independence.

- There were made the fateful decisions for the country. The Constitution was adopted, state symbols were approved, and the national currency was introduced. At the same time, the transfer of the capital gave a powerful impulse to the development of Almaty. The presence of a strong political center and a large metropolis in the country is the characteristics for many developed countries, "said the President of Kazakhstan.

The head of state also noted that the foundation of any city’s prosperity is the stable development of its economy. The main importance is that this is the beginning of a new stage in the development of the country.

- We have announced the beginning of the Third Modernization in the country, we have made a constitutional reform on the transfer of power, and we have started the process of public consciousness transformation, and the program "Digital Kazakhstan" is being developed. An effective realization of these initiatives depends largely on the regions. Almaty plays a key role here. The city has been formed as the largest economic center of the country and a key donor of the republican budget, "said the President of Kazakhstan.

At the same time, Nursultan Nazarbayev highligtened the importance of a balanced development and the need for a systemic solution of a number of questions affecting the economic potential of Almaty.

- At the beginning of this year, I commissioned to provide the active development of mass and a family business in all regions. Now the small and the medium-sized businesses are mainly financed by the bank loans in Almaty. At the same time this year, the volume of bank loans to small businesses is reduced by 43%. The volume of business support from the side of the executive committee and the Damu Fund is only two percent,the Head of State said.

The President of Kazakhstan also instructed to ensure the shadow business expel in the legal sphere of activity.

"The city legalizes a property and four trillions tenge, which should give an additional increase in tax revenues for about 100 billions tenge," the Head of State said.

Separately, Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed on the need of work continuation for identifying hidden reserves of growth and inadequate use of potential in the sphere of public-private partnership. An attention was also paid for reducing the volume of innovative products which was halved.

- All major universities of the country are concentrated in Almaty, including the largest technical university named after Satpayev. However, we do not see any serious innovative developments. Here the executive committee should take all necessary measures together with the interested state bodies, - the Head of the State said.

In particular, in order to ensure the growth of innovations Nursultan Nazarbayev highlightened the maximum usage importance of the potential of the FEZ PIT "Alatau".

- 20 billions tenge have been invested by the budget in its construction, and only 22 billions of private investments were attracted for 12 years of FEZ work. The executive committee does not affect on its work. It's time to put order in this question procuring effective control over the work of the FEZ, "the President of Kazakhstan noted.

The head of the state also mentioned the industrial zone created in Almaty.

- Nowadays 40 projects have been registered for 191 billions tenge in it. At this moment only one project has been launched, 13 ones are under construction, and the rest is just undergoing preparatory work. I instruct the executive committee to increase the occupation of the industrial zone with new projects, - said Nursultan Nazarbayev.

One of the most important issues in the successful development of the city the Head of the State called an effective infrastructure.

- Over the past five years, more than 430 billions tenge have been invested in its development from the budget. 30 junctions have been built, 330 kilometers of engineering networks have been commissioned, the metro is progressing. One third of the historical center of Almaty has been modernized. It pleases the townspeople, develops the economy, attracts the tourists. At the same time, there are still many unresolved issues. First of all, this traffic congestion of the city - 700 thousand cars run daily. This problem must be solved by introducing elements of an "intelligent" transport system based on smart technologies. This will help build an effective transport system to make the life of the townspeople more comfortable, "said the President of Kazakhstan.

Considering the growth of the city's population and the constant expansion of its territory, Nursultan Nazarbayev raised the issue of expediency of restoring the institute responsible for the development of the city's master plan.

- Over 10 years the city has grown more than twice, two new districts have been created - Alatau and Nauryzbay. However, the Master Plan has not changed since 2004. The institute responsible for the development of the general plan was abolished in 2008. If there is an urgent need for this, it is necessary to recreate such an institution again, "the Head of State said.

Nursultan Nazarbayev drew attention to the need to continue the executive committee’s work to identify unused land, as well as their seizure and effective development.

- Today, 500 hectares of urban land is still undeveloped. Meanwhile, the land is the main asset of development of any large city. It is necessary to radically reorganize the work of architecture and construction. Urban policy should correspond to modern trends, - said the President of Kazakhstan.

The head of state also spoke about the need to develop a program for further improve the architectural appearance and modernization of the central part of the city, reduce old and dilapidated housing, and improve streets. It was noted that many significant objects of the city are under the jurisdiction of the central state bodies, which do not give them due attention.

- In neglected condition are the Baum grove, the Botanical Garden. Serious reconstruction is required by the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace. The ministries allocate funds for these facilities on a residual basis, while the executive committee can not help them by virtue of budgetary legislation. If the central state bodies have no time to deal with these objects, then it is necessary to transfer them to the jurisdiction of local executive bodies, "said the President of Kazakhstan.

Nursultan Nazarbayev paid a special attention to the issue of ecology.

- Over recent years, the city's atmospheric pollution index has decreased by 20%. This work needs to be continued. I instruct the governor together with Samruk-Kazyna to take measures to transfer CHP-2 to gas by 2020 and to complete the gasification of the private sector. In the city, it is necessary to establish systematic work and control over green spaces. Only last year, five thousand trees were cut down. It is necessary to tighten control in this area, increase the norm of compensatory planting, provide care for greenery, - the Head of State concluded.

The President of Kazakhstan pointed to the executive committee of the city also on the need for a systematic solution to the problem of garbage, ensuring its comprehensive processing and a full cycle of utilization.

At the end of the speech, Nursultan Nazarbayev wished the participants success in their future work for the benefit of Almaty and the whole of Kazakhstan.