AT THE EXPO 2017 SITE IN ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN—Even with a highly depreciated currency and an economy battered by the oil price slump, the former Soviet nation of Kazakhstan is ramping up completion of EXPO 2017 and its surroundings in the capital of Astana—a futuristic megaproject estimated to cost between $3 and $5 billion that will showcase global energy efficiency but also promote the Central Asian nation's push to modernize and raise its worldwide profile.
The first international exhibition to be held in Central Asia and in a former CIS country, "Future Energy" will host 3 million visitors between June and September of next year and create what its Chicago-based designer Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill (AS+GG), said will make Astana “the first Third Industrial Revolution city where energy consumed by the Expo community will be provided from renewable sources.” Buildings will generate their own power that will be distributed by a smart grid.