Measures to provide the Internet on the highways of national importance and the implementation of innovative projects in the transport industry were discussed during the Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov,El.kz cites primeminister.kz.
The report was made by the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry.
To date, according to Zhaslan Madiyev, the digital transformation of the road industry in Kazakhstan is aimed at creating a safe and comfortable transport environment for citizens. Currently, work is being done in the following areas:
In terms of infrastructure, work is underway to cover motorways with the Internet. In 2024, field surveys and detailed analyses of motorways were completed to measure signal strength and identify areas without internet. As a result, 243 antenna-mast structures will be installed along the republican roads in the first stage. Positive conclusions of expertise have already been received for 104 antenna-mast structures.
Within the framework of the national project ‘Affordable Internet’, 100 per cent of republican and regional roads will be covered with mobile Internet in 2027. In addition, artificial intelligence is already penetrating the industry. For example, work on diagnosing motorways with the help of AI is being actively carried out. The Smart Road Diagnostic System will diagnose 15 thousand kilometres of roads for flatness and rutting in 2024. The company is a resident of Astana Hub.
Three state services are provided in the road sector, entirely in electronic format. For example, previously overloaded cars were detected by a weight sensor, a camera took a photo separately, and the inspector stopped the car to formalise the violation on a paper protocol. This year it is planned to exclude the human factor and protocols will be drawn up automatically. For this purpose, amendments have already been made to the Administrative Code and integration works are being carried out.
The measures taken will reduce the number of transport inspectors on the roads, reduce the corruption component, as well as increase the life of roads and reduce accidents with trucks.
In addition, Astana Hub actively supports startups and companies working in the field of road technology, providing them with access to mentorship, accelerator programmes and investments.
To date, Astana Hub has registered 24 innovative projects working in the road and transport sector. Their revenue was 15 billion tenge, exports - 1 billion tenge and more than 1700 jobs have been created.
Zhaslan Madiyev also noted the importance of introducing international experience in the use of unmanned transport. In a number of countries, according to him, projects involving unmanned vehicles have already been successfully implemented.
The market of unmanned vehicles itself has a huge potential. According to expert forecasts, exponential growth in this market is expected in the near future. For example, by 2035, the unmanned vehicle market will be worth $3 trillion, a growth of almost 100 times.
"We see the need for systemic support for the development of the electric vehicle market. For this purpose, it is proposed to develop a programme to develop infrastructure for electric cars and incentives for their purchase. For example, some countries apply discounts for car parks, toll roads and permission to use public transport lanes," the minister said.
By the way, to attract global players in the market of unmanned transport in Kazakhstan, it is proposed to create the appropriate conditions in several stages. At the first stage - it is a regulatory sandbox, within the framework of which NAPs will be adopted, test sites for pilot launch will be selected. In the next phase, as the project is successful, it will be launched on a National scale.
"Launching such an initiative for unmanned transport will bring a number of strategic advantages to Kazakhstan. First and foremost is the attraction of international companies and investments. Companies such as Waymo (Google), Tesla, Baidu, Mobileye, Yandex, Huawei are actively looking for countries with flexible regulation to test drones ," Zhaslan Madiyev added.
In addition, this will attract foreign investment in research, infrastructure and production of components for autonomous cars. For example, in the UAE, the regulatory sandbox allowed WeRide and Cruise to test unmanned taxis in Dubai, which accelerated the local digitalisation of transport. Also, it will facilitate the development of local startups in the field of unmanned technologies.
The Minister summarised that as a result of the implementation of these initiatives, Kazakhstan will be able to strengthen its status as a regional technology hub.