On a snowy afternoon in Taldykorgan, a group of university students reacts with excitement at the mention of the words “smart city.”

“Finally!” one of them says, but they struggle to define what it actually means. Artificial intelligence? Cameras? Faster internet? It doesn’t really matter. For them, the concept signals something simple: progress.

That expectation has accompanied Kazakhstan’s digital strategy for nearly a decade. When the government adopted the “Digital Kazakhstan” program in 2017, the goal was to modernize public administration and infrastructure through data. Astana and Almaty were the first testing grounds.

But the real challenge began elsewhere. To scale the model nationally, authorities turned to medium-sized towns and small urban centers, places where infrastructure gaps were sometimes more visible than innovation. In some regions, electricity supply remains unstable. In others, sidewalks, heating networks, or waste management systems require urgent upgrades.

Aqkol: The Laboratory

Aqkol, a town of around 13,000-14,000 residents located 100 kilometers north of Astana, became the country’s first official pilot in 2018. The project, developed in partnership with Kazakhtelecom JSC, Tengri Lab, and the Eurasian Group, aimed to create a “conceptual model” of an intelligent city. Around 3,000 sensors and 150 cameras were installed to monitor everything from traffic flows to air quality.

In theory, Aqkol became a data-driven microcosm. In practice, the transformation was uneven.

During winter, some residents of Aqkol contend with poor street lighting and snow-covered roads; image: TCA, Manon Madec.

At first glance, Aqkol does not immediately appear transformed. On the main avenue, two heated bus stops operate through the winter. Nearby, smart benches equipped with Wi-Fi and charging ports stand mostly unused. A seventy-year-old resident waiting for his bus acknowledges that “the city has become more comfortable.”

In Aqkol, residents are waiting for more “smart” bus stops; image: TCA, Manon Madec.

Yet a few streets away, there are no sidewalks and limited street lighting. “Children walk home from school in the dark,” says Nadejda, a resident in her thirties. Zeinolla, a taxi driver native from Aqkol, questions whether the investment reached the entire town.

To understand the project, one has to step inside the Smart Aqkol control room. In a small office, screens display live environmental and security data. Air quality is measured every ten minutes. During winter evenings, coal-burning households generate visible emission peaks on the graphs.

“With these systems, we see exactly when pollution increases,” explains Asylbek Baiboranov, deputy director of the Smart Akmola regional program. “We can identify patterns and respond faster.”

On one of the large LED screens, a woman’s portrait appears alongside a live video feed of her entering what looks like a post office. The system matches faces in real time. “The surveillance cameras are equipped with facial recognition technology,” Baiboranov explains. Since their installation, recorded offences have fallen by roughly 20%, according to him.

Taldykorgan: more security, more environmental considerations

Taldykorgan already has an extensive camera network. Ameer, a student, supports further expansion. A smart city, he believes, would make Taldykorgan “more convenient, safer, and more modern.” But he draws a line: “Surveillance in public places is acceptable if it truly ensures safety. Data must be stored securely and not used for personal or illegal purposes.”

For local journalist Sandu Duseinova, cameras are only part of the equation. “If they were installed near rubbish bins, people would stop throwing garbage everywhere,” she says. For her, the promise of a smart city lies as much in environmental improvement as in security.

This is precisely the direction in which policymakers claim to be heading. In December 2025, French IoT company Actility signed a partnership with Kazakh telecom operator ASTEL. Thousands of sensors are expected to be deployed across roads, buildings, and transport networks. Authorities aim to regulate traffic flows, monitor air pollution in real time, detect heat loss during winter, and anticipate summer droughts. The objectives are framed in measurable terms: reducing congestion, improving energy efficiency, optimizing water use, and strengthening environmental monitoring.

Cameras and environmental sensors are expected to help reduce traffic congestion; image: TCA, Manon Madec

Aqkol 2.0

Back in Aqkol, Asylbek Baiboranov ensures the program acknowledged the weaknesses of the pilot and is now ready for upgrades. “Technology evolves quickly. We have to follow,” Baiboranov says. Older sensors are being replaced with newer models. Data processing systems are being modernized.

More than tangible infrastructures, digital services are at the forefront of the new strategy. In Aqkol, low-income residents will be able to present QR codes in supermarkets to receive discounts on essential goods. At the local hospital, patients can consult specialists via video, and their medical records are stored digitally. From tax payments to school schedules and administrative procedures, almost everything passes through online platforms.

This expansion of digital infrastructure has exposed risks. Over the past two years, Kazakhstan has recorded dozens of major data leaks. Last summer, a breach reportedly exposed personal data belonging to more than 16 million citizens. Beibit Birzhanov, Deputy Head of the Interior Ministry’s Department for Combating Cybercrime, reported more than 40 major data breaches in the first half of 2025 alone.

“The country is building national data centers so data remains inside Kazakhstan,” Baiboranov says. Data security, he insists, is now a priority within digitalization programs.

The smart city model has expanded quickly and is no longer confined to the city limits. In Kokshetau, north of Aqkol, the Smart Akmola headquarters looks less like a municipal office than a control hub. Young IT engineers sit in front of code. “Smart” bus stops are old news here. Their next playground is agriculture, or “smart fields.”

At the Smart Akmola office, digitalization is moving from pilot projects to a regional scale; image: TCA, Manon Madec.

Under the pilot program “Dihan Plus,” artificial intelligence is being used to analyze crop performance and detect where yields are lost. An audit of 1,800 farms narrowed the field to four pilot enterprises where precision farming tools are now being tested. Algorithms monitor soil data, productivity patterns, and input efficiency. Estimated savings could reach 250 million tenge ($500,000), says Baiboranov.

On the top floor of the building of Smart Akmola, a small incubator hosts students imagining Kazakhstan’s future urban and rural ecosystems.

Kazakhstan’s smart cities are not a finished model. If the first decade of the strategy built the infrastructure, the next will test whether targeted digital services can deliver tangible benefits without weakening data protection.