The president noted the need to introduce light rail transport in the city, reports Interfax–Kazakhstan. In his opinion, Almaty needs to complete the construction of the first stage of the metro, and then focus on developing the infrastructure of surface rail transport. In this regard, he noted that a similar transport system is planned to be tested in Astana.
As the second task facing the Almaty administration, Nazarbayev named the development of the tourism industry. “Our tourism is in its infancy, and the start of the tourism industry's development should be in Almaty. After all, 60% of tourists who come to Kazakhstan visit here,” the president said. However, when developing tourism, primary attention must be paid to environmental issues, he noted. In this regard, the head of state instructed the city administration to ensure, during the summer of this year, that access to the Chimbulak ski resort is provided only by environmentally clean transport.
Almaty is the largest metropolis of Kazakhstan, located in a picturesque area at the foot of the Zailiysky Alatau mountains at an altitude of 500 to 1,000 meters above sea level. The climate here is moderately continental, but significantly milder than in most cities of Kazakhstan. The average temperature in January is −8 degrees, and in July +22.3 degrees. The climate in the city is much milder than in Northern and Central Kazakhstan. Summer heat in the city is softened by its elevated position, a cool night breeze from nearby mountains covered with glaciers even in summer, an abundance of greenery, and many small streams, aryks, and rivers, the largest of which are the Bolshaya Almatinka, Malaya Almatinka, and Esentai (Vesnovka). In winter and autumn, the weather is somewhat softened by warm anticyclones from the subtropical deserts of Central Asia. Winter in the most mountainous areas of the city is considerably milder.
Today, about 1.3 million people live in Almaty. In December 1997, Almaty lost its status as the capital of Kazakhstan after Astana became the new capital of the republic.
Kazakhstan can receive 5-6 million foreign tourists per year, which would bring more than $6 billion to the treasury. But so far these are only forecasts. Despite Kazakhstan's unique nature and rich historical heritage, the necessary funds for development are lacking: entrepreneurs are in no hurry to invest money in the domestic tourism industry. Thus, if funds for the construction of a light road to the Chimbulak resort are never found, ski recreation in this area of Kazakhstan will be impossible.