Construction of the Almaty Metro began on 7 September 1988[4] when Kazakhstan was part of the Soviet Union.

However, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, funds from Moscow dried up and the new Kazakhstan government was unable to continue construction.

Efforts to preserve the already-completed work were made, but the high cost led to the accumulation of large debts to construction workers.

[10] In 2019, work at two metro stations Dostyk and Saryarka was suspended due to corruption against SK Engineering Support LLP, which owns 80% of the shares of Almatymetrokurylys JSC, and a criminal case was initiated.

[11] By 2005, the construction programme, now under the control of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, received commitments for 72 million tenge for 2006–2008.

When decorating the walls and floors, natural facing granite stones of the Kurdai, Kurta, and Kapal-Arasan deposits of Kazakhstan were used.

The rolling stock is modern trains manufactured by the South Korean concern Hyundai[18] with a through passage, air conditioning in the carriages, full autopilot mode and other features.

As of April 2015[update], the Almaty Metro had a route length of 11.3 kilometres (7.0 mi)[6] and served nine stations.

The Metro expanded [19] with an additional 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi) extension to Sary-Arka and Baurzhan Momyshuly and was completed in May 2022.

The balance of smart cards can be replenished through cash desks and automated terminals at the stations.

[28] Source:[28] On 9 August 2008, around 5 p.m., there was a collapse of soil from the surface into the tunnel of the subway under construction at the intersection of Abay Avenue and Gagarin Street.

From the nearby construction excavation soon arrived subway builders and KamAZ trucks, loaded with earth, began to fill in the landslide.

The green stripe separating Gagarin Ave in summer time is systematically irrigated through aryk system.

According to Salamat Esimkhanov, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Almaty Metro Construction Directorate: "Soil wetting cannot be the cause of the collapse.