An all-season middleclass resort will be built near Astana.
By 2021 on the shores of Big Chebachie lake, located 300 km from Astana (the capital of Kazakhstan), there will be a new resort named AkBura (“White Camel” in Kazakh). Up to 360,000 people will be able to relax on its 233 ha area, and this unprecedented project will be executed with support from the state.
Forbes Kazakhstan spoke with the CEO of Burabay Damu LLP, Galymzhan Abdykalikov, about what will attract tourists and investors to this planned recreational zone.
The innovative resort will be established using joint financing from the government and private businesses. Burabay Damu, the project’s main developer, is subordinate to the Department of Presidential Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main mission is to develop the recreational potential of the Shchuchinsk-Borovoy resort area. Designing the strategic program was entrusted to THR, an internationally-recognized tourist consulting company from Spain.
“They created a project which includes a vision of the resort, a development plan, a business model, a master plan, marketing analysis and, accordingly, a complete package of offers for potential investors. Marketing research was conducted for half a year. Having analyzed the current setup, we realized that our market lacks services for middle-class customers. There are great offers in the luxury sector, and lots in low-cost, but there is no decent medium-level service at an affordable price,” said Abdykalikov.
Entertainment facilities and hotels will be built at the expense of private investors, and the rest will be funded by the state. A mini-town close to the shores of Chebachie will deliver all types of recreation and diversions. Three hotels – based on sports, family and wellness and a spa – will be opened there. As envisioned by its designers, AkBura will host guests all year round. Tourists who plan to spend several nights, as well as one-day visitors, will be able to stay there. The service will be at a four-star level.
“To discuss the particular elements: we intend to have family and sports hotels, a waterpark, an adventure park, a development center with various courses and an indoor skiing arena. Also, there will be indoor and outdoor sports centers with all kinds of sporting pastimes, as well as a resort center for visitors to take walks and enjoy refreshing drinks. During the design of the master plan, it was essential to keep the surrounding nature inviolable. All the construction will be carried out in open spaces and not a single tree will be cut down. Only 20% of all 233 ha will be built up. The rest will remain untouched, and people will have a chance to enjoy nature there,” Abdykalikov said.
The state, represented by Burabay Damu LLP, committed to providing the necessary infrastructure. This includes electricity and a water supply, sewage systems, telephone lines and roads, as well as intra-resort improvements like bicycle lanes and sidewalks.
“Burabay Damu will maintain and service the whole area – keeping it clean, refining one piece of land or another. Additionally, it will shape an umbrella brand. It means that a single marketing policy for the promotion of this resort destination will be pursued,” added Abdykalikov.
As a result, an investor who wants to build a facility – whether it is a hotel, a ski lodge or a different kind of sports or entertainment center – will get a spot on already developed land. The area, which will be allocated for development according to the governmental decree on investment preferences, will be transferred to the private investor at no cost, in the form of a land grant.
According to Abdykalikov, AkBura will be economically attractive for investors. “We furnish a businessman with a complete set of documents. Obviously, an investor will require due diligence, and will make his own calculations and re-check ours, but he will get a basic understanding of the figures. We see our project as one-of-a-kind, because earlier, for example, the state was involved only in the provision of engineering infrastructure, whereas in our case we took it a step further: investors will receive spots in an already-developed resort area. It means that an investor comes to a readyfor use piece of land with a title to it.”
Construction of the resort will begin this year. Two years will be devoted to completing the engineering infrastructure. Improvements will be carried out in 2020 and, if everything runs as scheduled, the first AkBura resort facilities will open their doors in 2021.
