Republican and regional roads will be fully provided with internet access by 2027. This was announced today during a government meeting by the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry, Zhaslan Madiyev, as reported by a correspondent from the Kapital.kz business information center.
"The digital transformation of Kazakhstan's road sector aims to create a safer and more comfortable transportation environment for citizens. We are working on the following areas: implementing internet access on roads, digitalizing government services, and executing innovative projects through Astana Hub," he noted.
In terms of infrastructure, efforts are underway to cover highways with internet access. In 2024, field surveys and detailed analyses of the roads were completed, including signal level measurements and identifying areas without internet access.
"As a result, 243 antenna-mast structures will be installed along republican roads in the first phase. Positive expert conclusions have already been received for 104 antenna-mast structures. As part of the national project 'Affordable Internet,' 100% of republican and regional roads will be covered by mobile internet by 2027. In this regard, the ministry requests support for budget financing of the antenna-mast construction," the head of the digitalization ministry addressed the government members.
He emphasized that artificial intelligence is already penetrating the sector. Work is actively being done on road diagnostics using artificial intelligence.
"The Smart Road Diagnostic System diagnosed 15,000 km of roads for smoothness and rutting in 2024. The company is a resident of Astana Hub. Three government services are provided in the road sector, entirely in electronic format. In 2024, 1,793 such government services were rendered," Zhaslan Madiyev clarified.
Thus, the following government services are provided in electronic format:
1) Permission for placing outdoor advertising on republican highways;
2) Permission for placing outdoor advertising on regional and district roads;
3) Issuance of technical conditions for design at the intersection of international and republican roads (electric transmission, oil pipelines, gas pipelines, water supply, and other engineering networks).
"Previously, overloaded vehicles were recorded by a weight sensor, a separate camera took photos, and an inspector stopped the vehicle to issue a violation report in paper format. This year, it is planned to eliminate the human factor, and reports will be generated automatically. Changes have already been made to the Administrative Code, and integration work is underway. This will reduce the number of transport inspectors on the roads, decrease corruption, extend the lifespan of roads, and reduce accident rates involving cargo vehicles," added the head of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry.
Additionally, Astana Hub actively supports startups and companies working in the field of road technologies by providing access to mentoring, acceleration programs, and investments.
"Currently, 24 innovative projects operating in the road and transportation sector are registered with Astana Hub. Their revenue amounted to 15 billion tenge, with exports at 1 billion tenge, and over 1,700 jobs created," the minister reported.
It is worth noting that today, Transport Minister Marat Karabaev announced plans to build a national hotel network along the roads in Kazakhstan.
According to him, there are currently 1,446 service facilities operating along the roads in the country, with 1,299 or 90% of them meeting national standards.