Kazakhstan, Central Asia's largest economy, is building an entirely new smart city designed around drones and flying transportation systems from day one. California-based A2Z Drone Delivery this week announced a partnership with Kazakhstan's Alatau Advance Air Group as part of the country's Alatau City project.
A city built around the sky
The partnership officially launched during the opening ceremony of the UAM Test Center Eurasia in Alatau, where companies demonstrated technologies that could eventually support everything from drone deliveries to emergency response operations and passenger air taxis. A2Z demonstrated its AirDock charging stations and Longtail commercial drones during the event.
What sets the project apart is sequencing: rather than retrofitting an existing city, Kazakhstan is attempting to design the infrastructure, regulations and urban planning simultaneously. Planners envision Alatau City as a fully integrated smart city with vertiports, autonomous drone operations, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and digital infrastructure built specifically for urban air mobility.
Regulation moving as fast as the tech
Kazakhstan has already adopted experimental air regulations to support these technologies, signaling that the government is willing to move faster than many countries still debating how drones and autonomous aircraft should operate in urban areas. According to project leaders, the goal is to spend the next two years developing infrastructure and testing systems ahead of a planned commercial launch in 2028.
An international bet
The initiative is notable for the international collaboration behind it, with companies and organizations from the United States, China, Italy and South Korea participating in various stages of development and testing. Organizers say the project has so far been funded entirely through private investment.
The move mirrors a global push to scale commercial drone networks, seen in projects like the Flytrex drone factory expansion in Texas and eVTOL flight-test milestones such as Eve Air Mobility's hover-test campaign.
Why it matters
For A2Z, the partnership offers a chance to test how large-scale drone logistics networks might function inside a purpose-built smart city. More broadly, the project signals Kazakhstan's ambition to position itself as an early adopter of emerging transportation technologies. Turning the concept into reliable everyday transport remains a major challenge, with questions around safety, public acceptance and scalability still slowing urban air mobility worldwide. Defense-oriented drone programs such as the MQ-9B's first flight with Saab AEW pods show how quickly the wider sector is maturing.
Reporting based on coverage from DroneDJ.