During a working visit to Almaty, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov was briefed on the implementation of the President’s instructions and the city’s key socio-economic performance indicators. Particular attention was given to the development of e-commerce and tourism as promising sectors for attracting investment and creating new jobs.

The Prime Minister received a report on first-quarter economic results. Deputy Akim of Almaty Alisher Abdykadyrov reported a rise in the short-term economic indicator to 9.1 %. The main growth drivers were transport (+23.9 %), construction (+21.3 %), and manufacturing (+17.6 %). As of April this year, Almaty recorded the highest business activity index in the country at 57.9 %. Strong economic dynamics led to a 14.6 % increase in local budget revenues. In terms of investment volume, Almaty leads nationally, attracting 541.3 billion tenge into fixed capital over the first four months of the year — an increase of 35.6 %.

Small and medium-sized businesses play a key role in the city’s economy. By the end of last year, the share of SMEs in gross regional product had reached 60.3 %, and the sector provides employment for 90 % of the city's workforce — 972,100 people. The rapid development of e-commerce in Almaty is opening new markets and offering entrepreneurs effective channels to sell goods and services. The city currently accounts for 95.2 % of all electronic retail trade in goods and 93.2 % of e-commerce in services nationwide.

Olzhas Bektenov visited the first modern dark store warehouse in Almaty, operated by Magnum E-commerce Kazakhstan. The hub can process up to 18,000 orders daily, improving logistics efficiency and customer service. The project attracted 13 billion tenge in investment and created 800 jobs. In total, Kazakhstan’s e-commerce volume reached 3.2 trillion tenge last year, growing fivefold over the past five years. E-commerce now makes up 16.6 % of total retail turnover.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of forming a modern model of consumption, logistics, and trade. A notable outcome has been the 7.5 % reduction in the shadow economy since 2017. The government will provide the necessary infrastructure support to facilitate trade and transit. He also stressed the importance of supporting domestic producers and instructed the Almaty Akimat and the Ministry of Trade to establish collaboration between retailers and local suppliers.

Mikhail Lomtadze, CEO and co-founder of Kazakh tech company Kaspi.kz, shared that in 2025 alone, more than 800,000 Kazakhstanis placed 5.3 million orders through the Magnum online supermarket on Kaspi.kz with fast delivery. Over 50 % of sales came from locally produced goods. The platform also created 4,500 jobs and paid 5 billion tenge in taxes to the state budget — nearly 2.4 billion of which were paid in 2024.

Almaty remains the main tourism hub in Kazakhstan. In 2024, investment in the tourism sector reached 40.2 billion tenge, a 1.5-fold increase. Tourist arrivals in 2025 are expected to reach 2.5 million, compared to over 2.3 million in 2024. This annual growth is placing increasing pressure on the hotel sector, with peak occupancy rates exceeding 90 %. Expanding hospitality infrastructure has therefore become essential.

Olzhas Bektenov reviewed plans for expanding the hotel network to support tourism infrastructure. He visited Renion City Hotel and was presented with upcoming projects including Hilton Park Almaty 5*, Hilton Garden Inn 4*, Radisson Hotel & Residences Almaty 4*, and The Veil. Plans are in place to increase the number of hotel rooms by 1.5 times by 2027, which will help attract more tourists and create new jobs, thereby contributing to the diversification of the city’s economy.

The Prime Minister instructed the Akimat and relevant state agencies to provide the necessary support for the timely commissioning of these projects. He also emphasized that investors are expected to involve and train local specialists in accordance with international standards in the tourism sector.

#Olzhas Bektenov #Infrastructural development #President's instruction

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