Truck ban in Almaty from 25 July 2026: the zone, the hours, the fines and the detours
Published:
From 25 July 2026 Almaty restricts goods vehicles with an axle load above 8 tonnes: between 07:00 and 22:00 such vehicles may not enter the area bounded by Sain Street, Al-Farabi Avenue, the Eastern Bypass Road and Ryskulov Avenue. Below are the parameters of the restriction, a map of the zone, the fines under the Administrative Offences Code of Kazakhstan and the detour routes. Separately: the history of restrictions since 2003 and the related regimes — the Almaty low emission zone and the transit ban on heavy vehicles in Astana.
Quote is based on body, chassis and temperature range.
Parameters of the restriction
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Criterion | axle load above 8 tonnes (axle load, not permissible maximum mass) |
| Hours | daily from 07:00 to 22:00 |
| At night | no restriction between 22:00 and 07:00 |
| In force from | 25 July 2026 |
| Zone | a quadrangle: Sain St (west) — Al-Farabi Ave (south) — Eastern Bypass Road (east) — Ryskulov Ave (north) |
| Responsible authorities | the traffic and passenger transport department of the Almaty city administration (referred to in press releases as the urban mobility department), together with the administrative police department |
Road signs were to be installed by 24 July 2026. No number or date has been published for a legal act introducing the restriction: as of 11 August 2026 no such document appears on adilet.zan.kz, and the regime rests on a decision of the city authorities. Legally the restriction is visible as road signs, and failure to obey them falls under Article 601 of the Administrative Offences Code (see "Fines").
The stated objectives (per Zakon.kz):
- increasing the capacity of the street network;
- reducing traffic load on the busiest arteries;
- improving road safety;
- improving air quality.
The regime was announced on 30 June 2026 at a public hearing; the announcement referred to a draft city council decision and to hours of 07:00–20:00, whereas the final regime runs 07:00–22:00. The head of the department, Yerzhan Dikhanbayev (Forbes, 30.06.2026): "This is not a ban on freight transport. Our task is to redistribute traffic" — by time and by route. The official advice to drivers is to "plan routes in advance, taking the new restrictions into account" (Kursiv).
The zone
The restricted area is a quadrangle bounded by Sain Street to the west, Al-Farabi Avenue to the south, the Eastern Bypass Road to the east and Ryskulov Avenue to the north. Inside it, between 07:00 and 22:00, vehicles with an axle load above 8 tonnes are prohibited.
The status of the boundary roads themselves is not clarified in the 2026 decision. The predecessor rule of 2005 excluded Ryskulov Avenue from the restricted area; official sources neither confirm nor rule out the same treatment in 2026.
The criterion is axle load, not gross mass
Every official statement words the criterion the same way: "goods vehicles with an axle load of more than 8 tonnes". The restriction is tied to axle load, not to the permissible maximum mass of the vehicle. A vehicle whose axle load does not exceed 8 tonnes is outside the restriction at any hour.
Exemptions and permits
For the 2026 regime, no list of exemptions (emergency vehicles, municipal equipment, deliveries) and no permit procedure have been published. Claims that a permit system is in operation are not supported by any document. The lawful ways into the zone are the night window from 22:00 to 07:00 and vehicles with an axle load of 8 tonnes or less.
For reference, the historical procedure: under the Almaty city council decision of 11.06.2003 (registered as No. 537 on 23.06.2003), goods vehicles entered the city centre on special permits issued by the traffic police — an application with supporting documents, issued free of charge within 7 days, refusals given in writing within 3 days. Emergency and rescue services, and vehicles supporting continuous asphalt and concrete laying, were exempt from the weekend and holiday ban. That procedure was repealed in 2010 (city council decision No. 282 of 22.01.2010) and does not apply to the 2026 regime.
Fines
The monthly calculation index (MCI) is 4,325 tenge from 1 January 2026 (Article 7(4) of Law No. 239-VIII of 08.12.2025 on the republican budget for 2026–2028).
Entering the zone past a prohibitory sign falls under Article 601 of the Administrative Offences Code, "Failure to comply with the requirements of road signs or carriageway markings":
| Offence | Fine |
|---|---|
| Part 1 — failure to comply with sign requirements | 3 MCI = 12,975 KZT |
| Part 2 — repeat offence within one year | 10 MCI = 43,250 KZT |
A related provision is Article 571(6): movement of heavy vehicles exceeding permissible weight parameters, including where detected by automatic enforcement, or without a special permit. This concerns weight enforcement on the road network rather than entry past a sign:
| Excess weight | Individuals | Small business | Medium business | Large business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 5 tonnes | 40 MCI (173,000 KZT) | 80 MCI | 120 MCI | 200 MCI |
| 5 to 10 tonnes | 80 MCI | 130 MCI | 180 MCI | 280 MCI |
| over 10 tonnes | 180 MCI | 480 MCI | 780 MCI | 1,000 MCI (4,325,000 KZT) |
Detours: the Eastern Bypass and BAKAD
The Eastern Bypass Road forms the eastern boundary of the zone and remains available as a detour.
BAKAD, the Big Almaty Ring Road, is 66 km long and tolled. From 16 August 2026 the tariffs double. The charge covers a single trip regardless of distance within one hour. A 50 % discount applies when paying in advance before entry or within 7 working days afterwards.
| Vehicle category | Tariff from 16.08.2026 |
|---|---|
| Cars | 0.14 MCI (605.5 KZT) |
| Buses up to 16 seats / trucks up to 2.5 t | 0.16 MCI (692 KZT) |
| Buses up to 32 seats / trucks up to 5.5 t | 0.28 MCI (1,211 KZT) |
| Buses over 32 seats / trucks up to 10 t | 0.32 MCI (1,384 KZT) |
| Trucks 10–15 t | 0.40 MCI (1,730 KZT) |
| Over 15 t with a trailer | 0.44 MCI (1,903 KZT) |
According to Tengrinews, new exits towards BAKAD are under construction in Almaty: extensions of Abay Avenue and Sain Street are due to open to traffic by the end of 2026.
A history of the restrictions: 2003–2026
| Date | Document or event | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 27.02.2003 | decision of the 24th session of the Almaty city council | restriction on goods vehicles in the city centre |
| 11.06.2003 | decision of the 25th session (registered as No. 537 on 23.06.2003) | re-adopted the decision of 27.02.2003; in the 2005 version, clause 2 defined the quadrangle Raiymbek — Zhangeldin — Kaldayakov — Lugansky — Tatimbet — Gornaya — Al-Farabi — Sain and banned movement at weekends (from 24:00 Friday to 06:00 Monday) and on public holidays (06:00–24:00) |
| 28.09.2005 | decision No. 182 | first appearance of the 8-tonne axle criterion (clause 2-1): a ban on vehicles whose "laden mass… in terms of the load on a single axle exceeds 8 tonnes" — south of Ryskulov Ave, west of Zhangeldin St and east of Sain St, excluding Ryskulov Avenue itself |
| 28.02.2006 | decision No. 232 | amendments to clause 2-1 |
| 22.01.2010 | decision No. 282 | the 2003 document repealed |
| 25.07.2026 | new regime | zone widened to the Sain — Al-Farabi — Eastern Bypass — Ryskulov quadrangle, daytime window 07:00–22:00 |
No statements about tightening the axle-load ban further — a lower threshold, a wider zone or round-the-clock operation — have been recorded in open sources.
Related regimes: the Almaty low emission zone and the Astana transit ban
The Almaty low emission zone (LEZ):
- the rules, part of the Air Protection Rules, have applied since 10 March 2026;
- the pilot area is the quadrangle Bogenbay Batyr — Abay — Zheltoksan — Dostyk; road markings have been applied at 12 locations; enforcement is by camera using number plates; owner notifications began on 1 August 2026;
- the main entry ban for vehicles without an environmental inspection starts on 9 January 2027, with inspections to be completed by 8 January 2027; electric and hydrogen vehicles are exempt;
- the boundaries of the full zone are to be set by a city administration resolution, unpublished at the time of writing;
- the schedule of fines has not been formally approved: kt.kz reported plans in the range of 10 to 100 MCI, while el.kz states that no specific fines exist yet;
- an odd/even plate scheme on the Chinese model is only under discussion, with no timetable or mechanism.
Astana: by a city administration resolution of 28 July 2026, transit heavy goods vehicles are banned from the area inside the Astana Bypass road, in force from the beginning of August 2026. It applies to transit only — if Astana is the final destination the ban does not apply — and it does not affect cars.
What this means for commercial vehicle owners
Daytime delivery inside the zone has shifted to vehicles with an axle load of 8 tonnes or less, which run without time restrictions; heavier vehicles run at night or take the Eastern Bypass and BAKAD. This parameter now sits alongside the forthcoming low emission zone requirements when planning an urban delivery fleet. The COND plant in Almaty builds and retrofits bodies for light and medium commercial vehicles — insulated and refrigerated vans, dry freight bodies, flatbed platforms and curtain-side bodies; chassis and body specifications are in the catalogue at cond.kz.
FAQ
Does the ban apply at night?
No. The restriction runs daily from 07:00 to 22:00; between 22:00 and 07:00 goods vehicles are not restricted.
Is the restriction based on vehicle mass or on axle load?
On axle load: the ban applies to goods vehicles with an axle load above 8 tonnes. Permissible maximum mass does not appear in the wording.
What is the fine for entering the zone past a prohibitory sign?
Under Article 601 of the Administrative Offences Code: 3 MCI (12,975 KZT), rising to 10 MCI (43,250 KZT) for a repeat offence within one year.
Can a permit be obtained to enter the zone?
No permit mechanism has been published for the 2026 regime. The earlier permit procedure, under the 2003 city council decision, was repealed in 2010. The lawful options are the night window from 22:00 to 07:00 and vehicles with an axle load of 8 tonnes or less.
Source legislation
Full texts in the official Kazakh legal database Adilet:
- https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/V03R000537_ — Almaty city council decision of 11.06.2003 (registered No. 537 on 23.06.2003); clause 2 as amended by decision No. 182 of 28.09.2005; clause 2-1 (the 8-tonne axle rule) added by decision No. 182 and amended by decision No. 232 of 28.02.2006; permit procedure; repealed by decision No. 282 of 22.01.2010.
- https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K1400000235 — Administrative Offences Code No. 235-V of 05.07.2014: Article 601(1) (3 MCI) and 601(2) (10 MCI); Article 571(6) (the 40–1,000 MCI scale).
- https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/Z2500000239 — Law No. 239-VIII of 08.12.2025 on the republican budget for 2026–2028, Article 7(4): MCI = 4,325 KZT from 01.01.2026.