Almaty to Adopt Sofia's Experience in Developing Low Emission Zones

A working delegation focused on implementing Almaty's Air Protection Rules has studied Sofia's experience—the first city in Eastern Europe to establish a Low Emission Zone (LEZ).

The delegation included representatives from the Almaty Air Initiative, LLP "Eco Almaty," the state enterprise "Almaty Parking"—the operator of the LEZ—as well as members of the working group responsible for developing and implementing Almaty's Air Protection Rules. In Sofia, they met with officials from the municipality, experts, a city council deputy, and a representative from the medical association.

According to the Almaty Air Initiative, after launching the LEZ, Sofia saw a decrease in violations by approximately 93%—from around 20,000 low-emission class vehicles per day to 1.3–1.4 thousand by February 2026. This effect was achieved through automatic detection, information dissemination, and driver notifications, without full enforcement of fines.

During the visit, Sofia's phased approach to implementing restrictions, organizing bypass routes, socially supporting residents, digital administration, and air quality monitoring were studied.

Particular attention was given to measures supporting the population. In Sofia, restrictions on coal and firewood usage were accompanied by free replacement of heating equipment. By early 2026, about 20,000 units were replaced in approximately 11,000 households.

Executive Director of Almaty Air Initiative, Zhuldyz Saulebekova, emphasized that it was crucial for the delegation to learn from a city that recently underwent this process and to directly discuss with participants what worked, the challenges faced, and what they would do differently today.

Deputy General Director of LLP "Eco Almaty," Aidana Kasen, noted that Sofia's experience showed ecological restrictions are most effective when implemented gradually with simultaneous population support.

Currently, a technical LEZ pilot is being implemented in Almaty within the square of Bogenbai Batyr – Abay – Zheltoksan – Dostyk streets. Until December 31, 2026, no restrictions, fines, or entry fees are planned.

At this stage, the city is testing cameras, radar sensors, and vehicle recognition systems, synchronizing traffic data with air quality indicators, and fine-tuning interactions between relevant services.

Following the visit, Almaty Air Initiative prepared an analytical report with recommendations for Almaty. These include preliminary diagnosis of pollution sources, data integration from different agencies, public transport development, targeted resident support, and refining the digital administration system before introducing restrictions.

reports ЖКХ24, citing the official website of the Almaty city administration.

Photo: gov.kz