How a Land Management Project Is Structured: 7 Stages from Survey to Cadastre

For most clients, a land management project looks like a “black box”: you hand over the documents and, a couple of months later, you get your plot on the cadastral map. But between those two points lie seven clearly defined stages, each of which produces a specific document and involves a decision that affects the result. Understanding this structure helps the client stay engaged in the process: preparing paperwork on time, monitoring the contractor, and not paying twice for rework.

In this article we break down what a land management project consists of and what you receive at each step. If you are specifically interested in the timelines of each stage, we have a separate breakdown of how long a land management project takes in Kazakhstan.

What a Land Management Project Is and When It’s Needed

A land management project is a state-approved technical document on the basis of which a plot appears in, or is changed within, the Unified State Register of Real Estate (USRRE). It is required for:

• allocating a new plot from the state land fund;
• splitting, merging, or redistributing plots;
• changing the designated use of land;
• clarifying or establishing boundaries.

Without an approved project, you cannot register a right, obtain a construction permit, or complete a transaction. That is why correct execution of each stage matters — an error at an early step surfaces during expert review and sends the project back to the start.

Stage 1. Preparation: Gathering Source Data

It all begins with documents, not with a site visit. At this stage the surveying company and the client collect:

• title documents (land act, lease agreement, akimat decision);
• cadastral extracts and information on adjacent land users;
• technical conditions if the plot borders protected zones (gas pipelines, power lines, water intakes).

What you receive: an understanding of the starting situation and a list of what still needs to be gathered. This is where “red flags” are identified — for example, an overlap with an already-registered plot, which is best discovered before the field crew is dispatched.

Stage 2. Field Topographic and Geodetic Survey

Surveyors go to the site and capture the actual coordinates: the turning points of the boundaries, the situation within the land allotment, existing buildings and utilities. The work is carried out in the state coordinate system, tied to geodetic control points or via an RTK/GNSS network.

For plots in Aktau and within the city, this is usually a single visit. On remote sites in Mangystau (Zhanaozen, Beyneu, oilfields), crew mobilisation is added.

What you receive: an array of actual coordinates — the foundation of the entire project. The accuracy of this stage determines whether the boundaries “on paper” match the boundaries “on the ground.”

Stage 3. Office Processing and Drafting the Project

In the office, the surveyor processes the field data and forms the core of the project:

• a coordinate catalogue of the boundary turning points;
• a plot layout diagram;
• a land explication and the explanatory (text) section;
• the area calculation.

The document is drafted in accordance with the Land Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Rules for Developing Land Management Projects. Prompt client sign-off matters here: if the plot configuration is still being refined, it is better to make changes before submission to expert review.

What you receive: a complete land management project package, prepared to the regulations.

Stage 4. State Land Management Expert Review

The finished project is submitted for expert review to the authorised land resources body. The expert checks the correctness of coordinates, area, land category and permitted-use type, as well as the absence of overlaps with other plots in the USRRE.

Two outcomes are possible: a positive conclusion or remarks. Remarks mean revision and resubmission — so the quality of stages 1–3 directly determines whether the project passes on the first attempt.

What you receive: the expert review conclusion — a mandatory document for moving on to approval.

Stage 5. Coordination and Approval by the Akimat

After a positive review, the project is submitted for approval to the district or regional akimat (depending on the land category). For industrial-purpose land — which is a significant share of plots in Mangystau Region — additional coordination with sectoral authorities (the Ministries of Energy and Ecology) may be required.

What you receive: a resolution/decision approving the project — the legal basis for making changes to the cadastre.

Stage 6. Cadastral Registration (USRRE)

The cadastral engineer prepares the boundary document in the required electronic format and submits it to the State Corporation NJSC (Public Service Centre). The plot is entered into the USRRE, assigned (or has clarified) a cadastral number, and appears on the public cadastral map.

What you receive: a plot with up-to-date boundaries and a cadastral number in the state database.

Stage 7. State Registration of the Right

The final step is registering ownership or lease rights with the justice authorities (via the Public Service Centre or eGov.kz). Only after this is the plot fully “formalised” and can be disposed of: built on, sold, or pledged.

What you receive: a registered right — the ultimate goal of the entire project.

Summary Table: Stage → Output Document

Stage	What is done	Document / result
1. Preparation	Gathering source data	Document list and review
2. Field survey	Measuring coordinates on site	Array of boundary turning-point coordinates
3. Office processing	Drafting the project	Land management project package
4. Expert review	State check of the project	Expert review conclusion
5. Approval	Coordination with the akimat	Approval resolution
6. Cadastral registration	Entry into the USRRE	Cadastral number, boundaries on the map
7. Right registration	Formalisation at justice authorities	Registered right

Why It Matters to Run the Project “Under One Roof”

Every handover of the project between different contractors is a risk of lost time and mismatches: one captured coordinates in one system, another formatted the explanatory section their own way, a third failed to address an expert-review remark. When the field survey, office processing and cadastral registration are run by a single team, responsibility for the result is not “diluted.”

For Mangystau Region this is compounded by local specifics: a significant share of industrial land with additional approvals, remote sites requiring mobilisation planning, and work in local coordinate systems that must be converted correctly. A contractor who understands these nuances saves the client weeks.

Conclusion

A land management project is not a single document but a sequence of seven stages, each producing its own result — from an array of coordinates to a registered right. Understanding this structure lets the client control the process and prepare in advance whatever depends on them (documents, approvals, prompt responses to remarks).

GeoProGlobal runs land management projects in Aktau, Zhanaozen, Beyneu and across Mangystau — from field survey to right registration, with no handovers between different contractors. If you need to assess a specific plot and understand where to start, get in touch.