The first ever subway line was officially opened by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on Thursday in Almaty after almost 20 years of construction.
“Today is an exciting historic day for our country. This is the first such facility in Kazakhstan and it will go down in the history of our country,” Nazarbayev said at the opening ceremony.
Construction began in 1988, but was stalled several times over the lack of financing. The Almaty subway line, which has seven stations, is 8.5 kilometers (5.3 miles) long and stretches across the central part of the city.
