6.5 Trillion Tenge from the National Fund: Kazakhstan Launches Construction Program Through 2029
Central Asia Column “Steppe Ahead”
Kazakhstan will draw approximately 6.5 trillion tenge—equivalent to 14.3 billion U.S. dollars—from its National Fund by the end of 2029. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced the infrastructure program on October 28 in his State of the Nation address. The funds will be directed toward social, transportation, and technical infrastructure projects across the country. A total of 1.5 trillion tenge—approximately 3.3 billion U.S. dollars—has been earmarked for social projects through February 2027.
Construction Program: 70 Clinics, 50 Schools, and a Catalyst for Private Capital
Tokayev called the initiative possibly the largest infrastructure project in the country’s history, according to the English-language government newspaper The Astana Times. The year 2027 is set to become the year of nationwide construction. Plans call for around 70 healthcare facilities as well as some 50 educational, sports, and cultural facilities, reports the regional news portal The Times of Central Asia. “Government funds must serve as a guarantee for attracting private investment,” Tokayev said, according to The Astana Times. The initiative is expected to provide jobs for hundreds of thousands of people.
The coffers are well-stocked. As of the end of September, the National Fund held $66.7 billion, 4.3% more than at the beginning of the year. Together with gold and foreign exchange reserves, the government’s reserves exceed $130 billion. The economic situation also supports the plan: The economy grew by 4.2% in the first nine months. According to Deputy Prime Minister Serik Shumangarin, private investment rose by 18.2% compared to the previous year, driving overall investment growth. Exports of goods and services rose by 25.4% to $55.3 billion in the first half of the year. Foreign direct investment brought a gross total of 9.4 billion U.S. dollars into the country during the same period. Only inflation clouds the picture: It stood at 9.3% in September, down from 9.8% in August.
Electricity Shortages and Transit Corridors as Bottlenecks
The program targets two weak points. First, energy: In 2025, Kazakhstan generated 123.1 billion kWh of electricity but consumed 124.6 billion kWh. The deficit of about 1.5 billion kWh was covered by imports, according to grid operator KEGOC, as reported by The Times of Central Asia. In the winter, the country buys expensive electricity; in the summer, it exports it cheaply. Tokayev wants to put an end to this and achieve a permanent electricity surplus by 2029. This year, approximately 2.4 GW of conventional power plant capacity is scheduled to come online. At the same time, the president criticized delays, such as those at the Balhash thermal power plant and on projects in Ekibastuz. Construction of the Balhash nuclear power plant is set to begin as early as 2027. A strategic uranium reserve is intended to supply the reactors in the long term.
Second, logistics: About 85% of land freight between China and Europe passes through Kazakhstan. “The vulnerability of sea routes has increased the strategic importance of land corridors,” said Tokayev. All road border crossings are scheduled to be renovated by the end of 2027. The 272-km-long Bakhty-Ayagos railway line on the Chinese border is scheduled to open in 2027. It will increase freight capacity to China from 28 to 48 million metric tons per year. In addition, there is the approximately 800-kilometer-long Aral-Caspian highway. It shortens the route to the Caspian Sea by about 1,000 kilometers and reduces delivery time by three days. Processes are also set to become more modern. “In the age of artificial intelligence, managing global transit flows with paper waybills is absurd,” said Tokayev regarding the digitization of the transportation sector.
Funding from the oil fund remains controversial
Purchasing power is also part of the package. The minimum wage will rise from 85,000 to 110,000 tenge—about 240 U.S. dollars—effective January 1, 2027. According to Tokayev, 1.8 million workers will benefit from this. It remains unclear what the withdrawals will mean for the fund itself. The Kazakh business newspaper Kursiv points out that the fund is expected to grow to $100 billion by 2030. Even for 2025, the planned transfers of 5.2 trillion tenge exceeded the fund’s expected returns of 4.8 trillion tenge. National Bank Governor Timur Suleimenov and senators had therefore repeatedly called for smaller and more strictly regulated withdrawals.
The implementation also raises questions. According to *The Astana Times*, political analyst Gasis Abishev points to tight budget resources amid declining oil revenues. Energy analyst Askar Ismailov recalls the halted oil storage project in Atyrau: Large-scale projects in Kazakhstan repeatedly fail due to economic viability issues. Added to this is regional imbalance. In 2025, Almaty, Astana, and Shymkent together accounted for 38.7% of GDP. Expert Olga Kaldybayeva of the Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies therefore calls for the construction program to be expanded to include rural regions as well. The president’s plan will only work if private capital actually follows state funding. Otherwise, the state will be building at its own expense, and the oil fund will shrink faster than it grows.
Source: The Astana Times, The Times of Central Asia, Trend, The Astana Times (expert opinions), Kursiv (all EN)