This is a set of nearby apartment buildings along the river that we could see from our apartment in July. It has changed quite a bit since then but as much of the construction has recently, all work seems to have stopped for now.

What we are told is that only about 20% of the construction that was underway this summer is still going. The dramatic drop off has nothing to do with the weather, but instead is a function of the current US credit crisis. It seems lenders got worried, and recalled and/or refused many of the loans that were funding the various projects around the city.

As a result, not only has the construction come to a near standstill, but as Astana's dynamic development fueled a large portion of the local economy, that economy took a large hit as well.