huge changes are now sweeping this nation. the capital astana is a planned

city that's mushroomed from nothing in just 15 years. buildings designed by world famous architects jockey for attention in the city skyline. kazakhstan is the fastest growing country in central asia and astana is the showcase for this growth at home and abroad. the city is experiencing a building boom. laborers flock here from around the country, hoping to find work and make their fortune. meanwhile, those who have already made it big are spending big to make their dreams come true.

>> money. money. and money. >> many foreigners have come to astana hoping to cash in on its boom. join us as we explore the allure of astana, the boom town of the steps. this is the palace of independence in astana. on display is a painting symbolism kazakhstan. it is an imaginary scene of world leaders gathering. center stage wearing a smile is

president nursultan nazarbayev and the man that created astana. soon after kazakhstan broke free from the soviet union, nazarbayev announced his intention to move the capital. some said it was rash to relocate from almaty the former capital to the frozen steppe 1,000 kilometers north but by pouring in huge sums of the country's vast oil and uranium wealth went forward. it's the president's greatest wish. in the center of astana rises

bayterek tower designed by the president himself. it is 105 meters tall and was the first structure build in astana as a symbol of the nation. the motif comes from a kazak folk tale of a bird that lays a golden egg in a tree. nearby bayterek tower stands buildings housing government agencies and large companies, the entire government moved to astana. the ministry of transport and communications building nicknamed the lighter building is depicted on bank notes. as people moved in, so did many big companies. since the relocation, astana has continued to develop but the

capital is not built out yet. there is construction everywhere as the city expands. on the front lines is a project close to the president's heart. nazarbayev university. it will educate a new elite and pave the way for kazakhstan to become an advanced industrial nation by 2030. construction will continue for some years yet. even employing 2,000 workers, labor shortages persist. that has attracted laborers from across kazakhstan hoping to find opportunity. the labor shortage has pushed up wages for construction workers. now they may 20% more than the average wage. the highest paid are the high-rise workers. they assemble scaffolding and attach exterior finishes.

darkanbek is 25 year and has been doing high-rise work for four years. the dangerous work is always done far above the ground. today, he's 40 meters up. but the scaffolding they stand on is just 40 centimeters wide, barely enough space for one person. each year dozens of men lose their lives working on construction sites.

in exchange for taking these risks, he and others like him take home $700 a month. $100 more than other construction workers. this construction company also has other projects with a july 6th deadline. they have pulled workers from the site leaving even more to do for those who remain. 6:00 p.m. is dinner time. workers receive two free meals per day. at lunch and dinner. for many, these are the only two meals they eat. in order to save up more of their earnings.

today's menu is stew and pilaf. three of his brothers also work on the site. they came here to work from a city 1,000 kilometers away. many of the workers on the site are from shymkent. this is a major project, not slated for completion until 2020. domestic and foreign companies compete fiercely for contracts. so far, turkish companies that have won the trust of the president have won many of the big contracts.

at 7:00 p.m., it is still light in high altitude in the summer. work can continue until 10:00 so after dinner the men head back to work. he not only does high-rise work, he's also a foreman now. he super vises 50 workers but it's not easy to deal with a crew trying to make every cent they can. hours worked are self reported.

workers want to be credited with as many hours as possible. so haggling is a daily routine. the sly, selfishness of the workers is a source of aggravation for him. past 9:00 p.m. the sun is finally going down in the west. and his long work day comes to an end. he loves looking out over the city from this spot at the end of the day.

in the four years since he came to astana, he has worked on a number of buildings. he takes pride in the growth of the city that he has helped build. he lives in a one-room apartment. his monthly rent is $250. his own possessions are limited to this bag he brought when he left his hometown.

growing up, he was so poor he didn't always have enough to eat. he says he was desperate to make money and have a better life. in astana, the city of hopes and dreams, men like him put their lives on the line every day to build the city ever bigger. but they don't interact much with the locals.

although he lives in astana, he will never be a local. but he continues to immerse himself in work day after day to chase his dream. friday night the group of young go getters have rented out a chinese restaurant. the crowd includes business people working for big companies, government bureaucrats and foreigners. this business mixer called friday astana happens once a month. >> where are you from? >> england. >> england? >> yeah. >> why? >> money.

money. and money. >> with kazakhstan's continued rapid economic growth and foreign investment booming, there are plenty of deals to be made. on the surface, it's a lively party but in the background people are trying to make connections that will serve their business interests.

like the ever-expanding city of astana, the new breed of success makers are always looking for bigger opportunities. let's meet a successful, young entrepreneur riding the wave of astana's urban growth. daniyal is a real estate broker. he was working in the former capital city almaty in a different field but he figured that there would be more profit in real estate in fast-growing astana. so in 2000, three years after the capital relocated, so did he.

daniyal set his company on the road to success by focusing on the luxury market targeting the wealthy. today, he's showing properties to some new clients. armand runs an advertising agency and argal is his wife. daniyal takes the couple to see

the most expensive condominiums in astana. this district of luxury condos has been dubbed paris. substantial sums have been invested to develop it. the buildings echo classic european architecture. that's the style astana's moneyed home buyers are looking for.

this property's selling point is the spacious rooms. it has three rooms in addition to the living room and an area of 160 square meters. there is also a concierge, proudly said to make it as comfortable as living in a five-star hotel. even the finest residential property doesn't impress armand but daniyal doesn't seem worried by that.

in kazakhstan, an average worker's annual wages are about $6,000. yet properties costing over $1 million are selling briskly. the wealthy of kazakhstan are demanding the newest, the most dazzling things.

astana, the boom town, is stirring up their appetite for extravagance. he was working until 5:00 p.m. this sunday but he's still meeting up with some co-workers. these few hours are the only leisure time he has in his week. he decides to go downtown to have some fun. this is the building that contains a shopping mall among other things. three years ago he worked on construction of it but this is only the second time he's been there since it opened. it's packed with stores but he keeps his money in his pocket. he and his friends head to an ice cream store.

it's over $3 for an ice cream scoop. at that price, they need to work two hours to pay for it. the people who build the buildings and those who use the buildings are two very different social groups. that's life in today's astana.

in the shadow of the building stand houses left over from soviet times. this is where workers like darkanbek and other poor people live. one side effect of astana's boom is the growing gap between rich and poor which fuels smoldering resentments. in december 2011 on kazakhstan's independence day, the largest riots since the country broke off from the soviet union took place in the western city. the events were sparked by unrest by workers at the state-owned oil company seeking higher wages. over 100 dead and injured were reported. since the oil company is the

front of the wealth, this incident made waves. despite the contradictions that enmesh ka zack stan, its new capital continues to grow. the city is slated to be fully built out in 2030. this model shows how astana is planned to look then. although huge sums have already been invested in its development, only 30% of the city has been built. in 2017, astana plan to host a world expo requiring more expenditure on top of what it will take to build the other 70% of the city.

on the outskirts of astana still stretch vast grasslands. this will eventually become part of the city. daniyal the real estate broker is betting his future on making it big here. until now, he's been a middleman in real estate deals but he's decided to build his own housing development. last year, he bought 30 he can tears of this land.

he plans to build new luxury homes here in just one year. noticing the lack of first-rate single family homes in astana, he's decided to import large numbers of prefabricated homes from germany. they are state of the art and can be erected quickly. the development will cost $130 million. can astana make daniyal's dream come true? in a year from now, we will know.

today, two new workers have signed on at the construction site. these two just came to astana from the hometown of shymkent. they say they want to do high-rise work to earn good money. the new guys are fearless. knowing just how hard the work can be, darkanbek told them what he's experienced.

four years after coming to astana with positive and negative experiences under his belt, darkanbek has mixed feelings. astana, a capital created at the whim of a president. as the city swells, the hopes and fears of thousands and and fears of thousands and thousands ride on its destiny. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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