Aktogay (, ', اقتوعاي ) is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in
Ayagoz District
Ayagoz (, ; اياكٶز اۋدانى) is a district of Abai Region in eastern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is the town of Ayagoz
Ayagoz or Ayakoz (, ''Aiagöz''), formerly Sergiopol (), is a city of regional significance ...
,
Abai Region
Abai Region (, ) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced on 16 March 2022 that the region would be created. The area split off from East Kazakhstan Region when Tokayev's bill came into force on 8 ...
of
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
and major
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
hub of Turkestan-Siberian Railway.
Aktogay is located in Balkhash-Alakol lowlands, close to Balkhash lake. The Ayagoz river’s mouth is located nearby Aktogay. The climate is continental. Summer is hot +40°, winter is cold -40°. The distance to district center Ayagoz is 100 km, to the region center Ust-Kamenogorsk is 420 km, to Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan is 1250 km.
The major copper deposit is discovered close to Aktogay town. This is the fourth reserves of copper in the world.
Aktogay Mine and copper extraction plant was completed there and the copper cathodes production started in 2011. The capital cost account $1.5-2 billion and the production capacity is 100.000 tones per annum.
The city is about 30 km from
Lake Balkhash
Lake Balkhash, also spelt Lake Balqash (, , ), is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the eastern part of Central Asia and sits in the Balkhash-Alakol Basin, ...
.
Transport
Aktogay lies on the main line of
Turkestan–Siberia Railway
The Turkestan–Siberian Railway (commonly abbreviated as the ''Turk–Sib'', , , ; ) is a Russian gauge, broad gauge railway that connects Central Asia with Siberia. It starts north of Tashkent in Uzbekistan at Arys, Kazakhstan, Arys, where it ...
. As a result of the Soviet–Chinese accords of 1956, the railway to
Dostyk
Dostyk (, ''Dostyq'') or Druzhba () is a small town in Kazakhstan's Jetisu Region, on the border with Xinjiang, China. It is a port of entry (by highway and railroad) from China. The rail portion serves as an important link in the Eurasian L ...
(in
Alataw Pass
The Dzungarian Gate, also known as the Altai Gap, is a geographically and historically significant mountain pass between Central Asia and China. It has been described as the "one and only gateway in the mountain-wall which stretches from China t ...
) was built in 1959, but by that time
relations between two countries had soured and Chinese
Lanxin railway was not extended to Kazakhstan border in the following thirty years. In 1985 Aktogay was linked with
Sayaq station, so a railway connection to Central Kazakhstan become available. After connection with China at the Alataw Pass in 1990, a railway bridge
Ürümqi
Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Northwestern China. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after Xi'an, also the ...
—Dostyk—Aktogay—Sayak—
Balqash—
Moyynty was created.
In 2012, a new line was opened between
Zhetigen
Alatau (, ''Alatau''; , ''Alatau''), formerly known as Zhetigen, Nikolaevka (, ''Jetıgen'', جەتٸگەن; , ''Zhetygen'') is a small town in Almaty Region of Kazakhstan. It is located some 50 km north of Almaty, on the Turksib rail lin ...
, via a
break-of-gauge
With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally canno ...
trans-shipment hub at
Korgas, to a junction in China at
Jinghe.
Climate
See also
*
Railway stations in Kazakhstan
References
{{reflist
Populated places in East Kazakhstan Region
Railway stations in East Kazakhstan Region