In order to facilitate the implementation of state tasks under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev to create a regional digital hub and increase the share of local processed transit data of total Asia-Europe traffic, a memorandum of cooperation was previously signed between the MAIDD RK and Freedom Holding. To date, large-scale work has been carried out in this direction within the framework of the public-private partnership. Freedom Cloud Holding and ASTEL JSC are responsible for the implementation of the projects.
The West-East hyper-highway is designed to strengthen international data transit and connect Kazakhstan with key routes between Europe, Central Asia, and China. The length of the trunk fiber-optic communication line (FOCL) from Aktau, where the construction of the Trans-Caspian trunk line is being completed, to the Khorgos border crossing will be about 4.5 thousand km (out of a total cable volume of 4,511 km, more than 2.2 thousand km have already been laid to date). The basic route passes through 7 regions of Kazakhstan, while the possibility of expanding the infrastructure to cover up to 13 regions is being considered.
All work is being implemented through private investment, which has significantly reduced the burden on the state budget and ensured high efficiency of the national project. Thus, in previous periods, the private investor successfully constructed the Aktau - Almaty and Ozinki - Khorgos trunk lines with a significant volume of laid networks in key sections (including the Uralsk - Aktobe, Korday - Almaty, and Almaty - Khorgos routes).
This year, the trunk network projects came under the jurisdiction of Freedom Cloud Holding LTD, and active construction of the Aktau - Almaty "Hyper-highway" and adjacent sections for their connection continues through its subsidiary ASTEL JSC. In the first half of this year, construction of the linear part of the Aktau - Saksaulsk section with a length of 1,100 kilometers was carried out, and from July 15, construction of the Saksaulsk - Shymkent section with a length of 930 kilometers began.
In addition, construction of the Saksaulsk - Aktobe section with a total length of 530 kilometers is underway, with 123 kilometers laid to date. In parallel with laying the linear part, installation of trunk communication nodes and active network equipment is being carried out in the second half of this year. Completion and commissioning of the hyper-highway are scheduled for the end of 2026.
The new infrastructure is expected to provide a bandwidth of 12 Tbps and above. This will create a technological foundation for services that require instantaneous exchange of large arrays of data with minimal latency: cloud platforms, neural network and AI solutions, smart city systems, telemedicine, EdTech, fintech platforms, industrial IoT solutions, and digital production circuits.
"After completion of the hyper-highway construction and its integration with the Trans-Caspian FOCL, Kazakhstan will have the opportunity to become one of the key digital transit hubs of Eurasia. This will allow increasing the volume of international data transit, attracting investments in the construction of data centers and cloud infrastructure, as well as creating conditions for the arrival of global technology companies. The country will be able not only to provide traffic transit, but also to develop a high value-added digital economy, create new jobs, export digital services, and strengthen its positions in the global digital infrastructure market," noted Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev.
The West-East hyper-highway forms a trunk digital corridor for international and interregional data transport, while the National Project "Investment Agreement for Connecting More Than 3,000 Settlements to High-Speed Internet" (SNP 2.0) brings high-speed internet directly to villages, social facilities, and residents. As part of SNP 2.0, the MAIDD RK, together with partners, plans to build more than 38 thousand km of optical lines and provide access to about 3,000 rural settlements across the republic.