Episode 36: New Kharkhorin: Future Capital or just a Fever Dream?
In this episode, we discuss parliament’s latest budget hearing, where New Kharkhorin, President Khurelsukh’s planned city in the Orkhon Valley, finally faced scrutiny. MP Tsenguun calls it “an empty city where nobody lives,” yet it already has four administrative bodies on the public payroll, and MNT 7.7 billion is proposed to run them next year. From Maidar City to Oyun-Erdene’s 14 mega projects and Uchral’s green data centers, Mongolia’s grand ambitions look good on paper but too often become money sinks that leave the public holding the bill. So is New Kharkhorin a city in the making, or just another grand idea politicians need to stop pursuing?
“Three Shines“:
The city on the steppe shines.
The city’s payroll shines.
The city’s windows are unlikely to shine.
Pocketcast | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
41min
Hosts: Anand, Dolgion, Julian
Date Recorded: Oct 13 2026
Date Released: Oct 14 2026
Keywords: politics | budget | mega project
Show notes:
