A planned light-railway system that was the most high-profile project in Kazakhstan of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure program has hit a wall.
A series of concrete columns snaking through the capital, Nur-Sultan, are the only visible evidence marking the route of the $1.9 billion railway project that was supposed to start operating in 2020. China Development Bank halted lending last year after the collapse of the bank where funds it had provided were deposited. Kazakh officials now say they will have to borrow domestically to complete the work.
