For four years, 18 investors in Kokshetau have been waiting for apartments in a residential complex where construction has virtually stalled. The investors put in over 120 million tenge, but the developer has only completed the first floor of the planned 12, reports infohub.kz.
According to the investors, in 2022, before signing contracts, company representatives showed images of the future complex and promised to finish construction quickly. However, the project remained unfinished, and the investors were unable to recover their money.
One investor, Zhumatai Tazhibaev, said he first demanded his money back in 2023. Instead, the company offered him a storage room in the building under construction. 'A year later, I came again for the money; they said, "Wait. We'll pay you the penalty in square meters." From 2022 to this day, I have nothing,' Tazhibaev said.
When construction dragged on, the investors began gathering information about the company themselves. They discovered that the founding company had initiated bankruptcy proceedings. Investor Sara Aktayeva said people repeatedly contacted the akimat and the prosecutor's office, and also asked for a criminal case to be opened. 'It looks like fraud. They collected the money, construction is not happening, everything is stalled. We can't find any leads,' Aktayeva said.
The construction company's lawyer, Ildar Khismutdinov, claims the developer was itself a hostage of circumstances. According to him, in 2021 the company had permission to raise funds from investors, signed a contract with an operator bank, and planned to sell apartments under a preferential program. However, after the program was canceled, the company's permission was revoked, and construction had to be suspended. 'In September last year, we signed a contract with an investment company from Almaty. But so far, for unclear reasons, there has been no injection of funds,' Khismutdinov said.
The Kokshetau akimat said it is trying to find a solution. A potential investor has already received information about the number of investors and the cost to complete the project. The head of the city's department of land relations, architecture and urban planning, Bakhtiyar Shabdanov, said the investor is conducting internal calculations and considering fully completing the construction. 'The city akimat supports this. Land plots and technical conditions will be provided,' Shabdanov said.
However, neither the authorities nor the developer have given specific timelines for resuming and completing construction. Investors are again being asked to wait, despite the company's previous promises not being fulfilled.