When speaking at a government sitting January 15, Erbolat Dossayev, the Kazakh Minister for Economic Development and Trade, said that they are considering legislation on a special national company to manage the event. The company would be responsible for all the preparation works and its major goal would be regulation of the actual design and construction processes.

Following Astana won the bid for hosting EXPO-2017 back in November 2011, Kazakhstan launched a State Committee for Preparations for the Exhibition presided over by the country’s PM Serik Akhmetov.

Expo 2017 is the next scheduled International Exposition after Expo 2015 and will be the first of its type since Expo 2012. The expos in 2010, 2015, 2020 and every 5 years thereafter are considered Universal Expos by the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) while the 2017 event will be one of the International Recognized Expos with a specialized theme that alternate with the Universal Expos. The International Expo is held between two World Expos and its duration is three months. Participants include states, international organizations, civil society groups, corporations, and citizens. The size of the site is limited to 25 hectares and the Expo organizers provide the pavilions, which are then customized by the participants. The theme of the International Expo must represent, as with the World Expo, a global concern but it must be more specialized in its scope. Kazakhstan’s theme will be Future Energy.

Kazakhstan plans to earmark $1.5 bln to construct facilities accommodating the EXPO-2017. Astana Mayor Office would launch a special Council to oversee infrastructure development in the city. A special fund of €5 mln is required to support this council.

Preliminary area for the EXPO-2017

The site is located in the southeast part of Astana city at the intersection of Shamshi Kaldayakov street and K-1 circular road in the Golf Club area. The site area is 113 hectares. The Expo centre complex fits with the planning structure developed for the city’s Master Plan and the detailed projects plans.

The Expo centre is accessible and connected the existing network of intercity roads, in particular with the K-1 ring road which ensures fast access from all directions. The Expo site has a road network which connects it to the downtown area, including main streets with 8, 6 and 4 traffic lanes which in turn ensure access to the city’s administrative and transport hubs (International Airport, Railway Terminal, Akimat…).