Almaty has begun dismantling an abandoned nine-story complex on the bank of the Yesentai River. The building, which stood unfinished for years, is now being demolished, reports infohub.kz.
Social media users noticed the work and speculated that one of the prominent buildings on the embankment was being torn down. Footage shows that a significant part of the facade has already been removed.
Recall that the nine-story complex, with an area of about 9,500 square meters, was built in 2017 in the Koktem-3 microdistrict, building 22. It was intended to be a hotel on the Yesentai River, but after the main construction was completed, the facility was never put into operation.
In 2022, the unfinished building was put up for sale for 5.2 billion tenge, later reduced to 4.74 billion. No buyer was found, and the building remained empty. In March 2025, a fire broke out in the building, with construction debris catching fire on the second floor.
In June 2025, the property was transferred to the Limited Liability Partnership "Company for Management of Returned Assets." At that point, the building was 100% complete but unused. Later, it became known that the hotel was handed over to the state by Kairat Satybaldy, nephew of Nursultan Nazarbayev. Plans were made to house city courts there.
In June, Tengrinews.kz reported that the property had been transferred to the balance of JSC "SPK Almaty." Now, the building is planned to become an IT hub.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported that demolition had begun on one of the city's most famous abandoned buildings – a high-rise near Lake Sayran.