Alatau City is drawing Korean capital. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has invited Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) to take an active role in developing the new city, while talks also expanded to Kazakhstan’s ports, regional airports and energy infrastructure, DKNews.kz reports.
Tokayev met KIND President and CEO Kim Bok-hwan in Seoul on September 15. The meeting focused on turning Kazakhstan–South Korea investment cooperation into specific infrastructure projects.
KIND Could Help Shape the Alatau Smart City Master Plan
Alatau City was at the center of the talks.
Tokayev highlighted the project’s significant potential and said Kazakhstan expects active Korean participation in infrastructure and investment initiatives in the new city.
The discussions produced a concrete step: the Alatau City Authority and KIND exchanged an agreement on developing a master plan for the Alatau Smart City project.
Korean involvement in Alatau City has been developing for some time. In December 2025, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction, the Alatau City Authority and KIND signed a memorandum laying the groundwork for cooperation in infrastructure, urban planning and smart technologies.
The latest agreement moves that relationship closer to the planning and implementation stage.
Korea Has Already Worked on One of Almaty’s Largest Road Projects
KIND is not entering Kazakhstan’s infrastructure market from scratch.
Tokayev specifically noted the corporation’s participation in the implementation of the Big Almaty Ring Road project. The 66-kilometer highway became one of Kazakhstan’s major public-private partnership infrastructure projects.
That experience matters for Alatau City. Kazakhstan is looking not only for financing, but also for partners capable of combining infrastructure development, urban planning and investment mechanisms.
Tokayev therefore invited KIND to participate more broadly in Kazakhstan’s large-scale program to modernize social and transport infrastructure.
Kim Bok-hwan, in turn, described Kazakhstan as an important transport and logistics hub in Eurasia and expressed KIND’s readiness to contribute to stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.
Aktau, Kuryk and Regional Airports Enter the Talks
The potential partnership extends far beyond Alatau City.
Tokayev and Kim discussed KIND’s possible participation in modernizing Kazakhstan’s transport and logistics system, including:
- development of the ports of Aktau and Kuryk;
- construction of regional airports;
- renovation of existing regional airports;
- other transport and logistics infrastructure projects.
This gives the negotiations a wider economic dimension. Alatau City is an urban development project, while Aktau and Kuryk are key components of Kazakhstan’s Caspian transport infrastructure.
The combination reflects Kazakhstan’s broader effort to strengthen its role as a Eurasian logistics hub — a point Kim Bok-hwan also emphasized during the meeting.
A Joint Fund Could Bring Korean Capital Into Kazakhstan
Another potentially significant mechanism discussed in Seoul was the establishment of a Kazakh-Korean Joint Investment Fund.
The proposed fund is intended to attract Korean capital and technologies to infrastructure and energy projects in Kazakhstan.
If established, such a mechanism could connect Korean financing and expertise with a pipeline of Kazakh infrastructure projects rather than requiring investment arrangements to be built separately for each initiative.
Kazakhstan and South Korea are already exploring similar combinations of project preparation, technology and financing in the energy sector. Earlier talks with Korea Eximbank covered infrastructure development, international financing and potential projects linked to Alatau City.
Three Agreements Put the Talks on a Practical Track
The meeting ended with the exchange of three documents.
A memorandum of understanding was exchanged between Caspian Group and KIND.
The Alatau City Authority and KIND exchanged an agreement on developing the master plan for the Alatau Smart City project.
A strategic agreement was also exchanged between Qazaqstan Investment Corporation and KIND.
Together, the documents connect three parts of the emerging partnership: urban development, investment mechanisms and broader infrastructure cooperation.
For Alatau City in particular, Korean participation is becoming more concrete. Kazakhstan had already identified KIND as a potential partner for energy, water supply, wastewater treatment and other infrastructure required for the new city.
Earlier, we reported that Kazakhstan and South Korea had already placed Alatau Smart City at the center of their transport and urban development cooperation, following the memorandum signed with KIND in December 2025.
