Planned reconstruction of the park at the Atakent Business Cooperation Centre, costing more than 10 billion tenge, has been suspended in Almaty. The tender for selecting a contractor was cancelled following a representation from the prosecutor's office.
According to the Telegram channel ‘Shishkin_like’, the park reconstruction project was presented to the Mayor of Almaty, Darkhan Satybaldy, in July of this year. The plan provided for the improvement of 74,000 sq. m of driveways and pavements, 170,000 sq. m of green spaces, and the installation of outdoor lighting, children's and sports playgrounds, modular toilets, automatic irrigation systems, and other facilities.
At the same time, half of the ‘Atakent’ land has belonged to private individuals for many years. A significant portion is concentrated in the hands of the family of a major shareholder of Atakent BCC JSC, Talgat Abdullayev.
Journalists sent a request to the Almaty Akimat to clarify the details of the reconstruction and the availability of co-financing from private owners. The response stated that the planned work will not go ahead: the tender worth 10.3 billion tenge was cancelled following a representation from the prosecutor's office.
It is noted that the corresponding announcement appeared on the public procurement website on 6 May, with applications accepted until 14 May. A total of 8 applications were received, and the winner was recognised as Global Construction kz LLP, founded in 2006 by one Timur Dzhakupbayev.
Over the last ten years, the company has paid taxes totalling 2.6 billion tenge and has experience participating in the public procurement system, having entered into nearly 150 contracts worth a total of 98.3 billion tenge.
Current projects include the reconstruction of a production base in the Zhetysu district of Almaty (3.1 billion tenge), major repairs and seismic reinforcement of school-lyceum No. 161 (886 million tenge), and the construction of the residential complex ‘Sayaly-2’ in the Alatau district (293 million tenge). The company was supposed to complete the reconstruction work at ‘Atakent’ within 9 months, but the contract was never signed.
According to the Akimat, in February the project received a positive conclusion from the non-departmental expert review. The Department for the Development of Public Spaces held a competition to select a contractor, but due to a representation from the Almaty city prosecutor's office, its results were cancelled. Court proceedings are currently underway.
The reconstruction was planned on a state fund plot of 27.14 hectares, belonging to the State Institution ‘Department of Green Economy of Almaty City’, where fountains, paths, and green spaces are located. The other half of the ‘Atakent’ territory, with a total area of 54.1 hectares, is used and generates income for private individuals.
In May 2018, the Akimat reported that part of the territory was returned to municipal ownership due to the tenant's failure to fulfil obligations. In June of the same year, the Akimat and a number of companies that jointly owned the land signed an agreement on the allocation of plots in kind (allocation of parts from common shared ownership). Since then, the plot has been divided into 23 separate ones, each assigned a cadastral number and an owner identified.
Among the major owners is Atakent BCC JSC, which owns the ‘Dolphin’ fitness centre and a number of administrative buildings and pavilions. A major shareholder of the company is Talgat Abdullayev, whose shares are held by relatives Nurila and Dalida Abdullayeva through Business City LLP.
The plot with the ‘Gallery’ shopping and entertainment centre belongs to Oxford Street Company. The founder is Zhanna Abdullayeva, sister of the shareholder of Atakent BCC JSC.
The plot with the ‘Atakent Mall’ shopping and entertainment complex is owned by Karkara-93 LLP and, since August this year, belongs to Darkhan Abdullayev and Halyk Group Insaat Turizm Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketti. Additionally, some plots belong to Eduard Kim and Renat Ismailov via Satu Ca LLP.