In Shymkent, the restoration of the Central Water Sports Complex and the construction of a football stadium with a 35,000-seat capacity have been delayed. Both projects have encountered management miscalculations, legal disputes, and failures by contractors to meet their obligations.
According to MIA «Kazinform», the complex, valued at 1.2 billion tenge, was transferred in 2017 under a trust management agreement to Grand Trust LLP on the condition of investing 500 million tenge in modernisation and fulfilling tax obligations on time. However, these requirements were not met: the pool fell into a state of disrepair, equipment broke down, cracks appeared in the walls, and operating the facility posed a threat to visitors.
The court returned the complex to state ownership. The city administration clarified that due to the unlawful actions of the management company, the state-owned municipal enterprise incurred a debt to the budget of 178.9 million tenge — including 25.4 million tenge for electricity and 124.6 million tenge in tax arrears.
The management company was ordered to compensate for losses and restore the facility, but according to the Deputy Akim of Shymkent, Sarsen Kuranbek, deadlines have been postponed several times. He noted that if obligations are breached again, the city administration intends to return to court.
Meanwhile, the company that previously managed the pool received annual funding from the local budget — a total of 1.5 billion tenge for the development of water sports, which raises questions about the quality of management.
The new stadium, intended to become the largest in Kazakhstan, has also become a problematic project. The foundation was laid in June last year, and construction was planned for completion in 2026. However, the project's timeline has already been disrupted.
The city administration explained that significant delays were caused by legal disputes over the land plot: the area allocated for the stadium belonged to private individuals, and the process of transferring it to the state is ongoing in court.
An additional reason was the slow pace of work by the contractor, which has already received a final warning — if it violates terms again, it is planned to be replaced. Despite the difficulties, engineering works are underway on the site and temporary utilities have been connected.
Earlier it was reported that in the North Kazakhstan region, a case of inefficient use of over 3.3 billion tenge was identified during the construction of unique closed-type wastewater treatment facilities in the village of Novoishimskoye, Gabit Musrepov District.
The facility, which was 95% complete, was never transferred to municipal ownership, and the project could not be completed due to systemic errors — from design to public procurement and oversight.