Kazakhstan commissioned 1,995 non-residential facilities worth a combined KZT 1.578 trillion in January-June 2026. According to the Bureau of National Statistics, the list covers virtually every type of infrastructure, from oil wells and wind farms to schools, mosques and holiday resorts. Yet when these projects are ranked by value rather than by number, the picture looks very different from what headlines about construction activity might suggest.
The most valuable category was not factories or energy infrastructure, but office buildings. A total of 240 office projects with a combined floor area of 445,193.2 square meters were completed at a cost of KZT 141.7 billion. Nearly all of that investment was concentrated in just three cities. Astana commissioned 81 office buildings totaling 205,006.3 square meters worth KZT 64.55 billion, Almaty added 55 buildings covering 138,274 square meters for KZT 43.67 billion, while Shymkent completed 31 buildings with 41,476 square meters worth KZT 12.99 billion. Together, these three cities accounted for KZT 121.2 billion, or 85.5% of the country’s total office construction value.
The second-largest category by value was general education schools. Kazakhstan completed 30 schools providing 16,640 student places at a total cost of KZT 125.6 billion. The cost per student place varied sharply across regions. Atyrau Region built 4,980 places for KZT 38.38 billion, or about KZT 7.71 million per place. Karaganda Region delivered 900 places for KZT 10.77 billion, or roughly KZT 11.96 million per place. By contrast, Shymkent completed 350 places for just KZT 924 million, equivalent to KZT 2.64 million per place – the lowest school construction cost recorded anywhere in the country during the period.
Wind farms ranked third by value, highlighting the gap between investment and scale. Just four projects with combined capacity of 250 MW cost KZT 104.6 billion – almost as much as all 30 schools combined. Aktobe Region accounted for 150 MW worth KZT 66.53 billion, while Karaganda Region added 100 MW valued at KZT 38.11 billion.
Wind farms were only part of the new electricity generation commissioned during the period, but the country’s energy map narrows to a single region in two of the four generation categories. Hydropower plants – two projects with a combined capacity of 34.8 MW worth KZT 15.16 billion – were commissioned exclusively in Zhetisu Region. Gas turbine power plants were also built only in Zhetisu, adding 13.7 MW at a cost of KZT 9.39 billion. Solar power projects were spread more broadly, delivering 45.8 MW worth KZT 12.54 billion, including 25.8 MW in Kostanay Region.
Comparing construction costs by technology shows that solar power was the least expensive, averaging around KZT 273.7 million per megawatt. Wind power followed at approximately KZT 418.6 million, hydropower at KZT 435.6 million, while gas turbine generation was the most expensive, averaging roughly KZT 685.4 million per megawatt.
Altogether, Kazakhstan commissioned 344.3 MW of new electricity generation in the first half of 2026 across wind, solar, hydro and gas turbine projects, representing KZT 141.72 billion in investment. Almost all of the country’s new hydro and gas turbine capacity was concentrated in a single region.
The fourth-largest category by value was parking facilities. Kazakhstan completed 124 parking structures providing 9,680 spaces at a total cost of KZT 74 billion. Once again, spending was concentrated in three cities. Astana accounted for 58 parking facilities with 5,459 spaces worth KZT 36.97 billion, Almaty delivered 24 facilities with 2,317 spaces valued at KZT 22.52 billion, and Shymkent added 29 facilities with 1,122 spaces worth KZT 6.70 billion. Combined, these cities represented KZT 66.19 billion, or 89.5% of the country’s total parking construction value.
Fifth on the list were holiday resorts and boarding houses, where regional concentration was even more pronounced. Kazakhstan commissioned 20 such facilities with capacity for 2,244 guests at a total cost of KZT 53.1 billion. Of that amount, KZT 51.6 billion, or 97.2% of the national total, was invested in Mangystau Region, where seven facilities providing 1,690 places were completed. That works out to approximately KZT 30.5 million per place, substantially higher than hotel construction during the same period, which averaged about KZT 23.3 million per place across 1,337 rooms worth KZT 31.1 billion. Other regions developing holiday accommodation, particularly Zhetisu Region with 528 places built for KZT 1.39 billion, recorded construction costs per place several times lower.
These figures point to three broader conclusions about Kazakhstan’s construction sector in the first half of 2026.
First, the most expensive categories – offices, schools, wind farms, parking facilities and holiday resorts – were not the most common by project count.
Second, investment in electricity generation remains highly concentrated geographically rather than evenly distributed across the country. Hydro and gas turbine capacity was built almost entirely in Zhetisu Region, while wind power investment was focused in Aktobe and Karaganda Regions.
Third, resort construction shows extreme regional concentration, with Mangystau Region alone accounting for virtually the entire national value of new holiday accommodation and by far the highest investment per guest place.
Behind the headline figure of KZT 1.578 trillion lies not a uniform construction boom across Kazakhstan, but a handful of concentrated investment clusters – in specific cities, specific regions and specific types of infrastructure.
Elvira Baturova, expert at EconomyKZ.org
