World Monitor Magazine, Business and Investments WM_march 2019_web | Page 36

INVEST TO KAZAKHSTAN
Currently, two significant major investment
projects are being implemented in the
capital: ‘Construction of the Abu-Dhabi
Plaza IFC’ and Creating a new ‘LRT’
transport system. We are also working
with potential foreign investors on the
implementation of several projects
important for the city, for example, with
Calatrava Grace Corporation (UAE)
to build a multifunctional covered
boulevard ($ 1 billion) by Sabis (UAE)
to create an international school ($
30 million) and the construction of
the World Trade Centre in Astana with
the Association of International Trade
Centres (WTCA). The international
prestige of WTCA as a global brand
is valuable for facilitating the
development of international trade
and investment. With their assistance,
the WTC opened in major cities around
the world, such as Amsterdam, Tokyo,
Seoul and Dubai. Taking into account
the synergy with the activities of
the AIFC, the WTC is supposed to
be located near the territory of the
financial centre.
As you know, attracting investments
largely depends on the conditions of
doing business. Unfortunately, the
bureaucracy cannot be eradicated
so quickly. To reduce the burden
on business, different countries
have adopted special programs. For
example, the United Kingdom, Canada,
and Serbia reduced administrative
costs to 25%, Japan canceled 14,500
and simplified 10,000 regulatory legal
acts, reducing costs by $ 8 billion. In
support of entrepreneurs and investors,
we are now working hard to improve
the business climate of the city by
reducing the administrative burden on
business, simplifying various licensing
procedures. This is improved access to
land, infrastructure, and more.
The prospects for the city are
colossal. Without the participation of
entrepreneurs and investors, Astana
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will not be able to become a modern,
full-fledged and global city. The mayor’s
office of the city is open for cooperation,
is pleased with constructive proposals
and new projects, intends to facilitate
the implementation of investment
projects and is ready to create the best
conditions for this.
Supporting investors
at any stage.
Project implementation.
Muhamed Zhusupovich, please tell
us about Astana Invest? Are there
any results in attracting investors
to the capital? What projects with
foreign participation can you give
as an example? And what is their
role in the development of the city?
MK: To begin with, Astana Invest,
the city centre for investment
development, was established in April
2017 under the Mayor’s office of
Astana. Our main goal is to attract
investment in the capital and the work
is carried out in two directions. First,
according to the experience of foreign
countries, we provide service support,
helping investors at every stage of
the development of their business, we
advise investors on the types of public
services, and also monitor existing
enterprises. The second direction is
the development of public-private
partnerships, the company provides
advisory support for concession and
PPP projects.
Over the two years of the company’s
activities, a significant amount has
been achieved; we have formed in-
vestment proposals for investors in
priority sectors, modernized the invest-
ment website www.investinastana.kz,
improved approaches and channels
of communication with investors for
prompt resolution of current issues. In
2018, together with the Akimat (Mayor’s
office) of Astana, they helped launch
ten investment projects worth over
22.9 billion tenge with the participation
of foreign and domestic investors. At
the stage of implementation there are
five more projects, thanks to which
new productions will be opened in the
city, in particular, paints and varnishes,
equipment for sewage treatment,
a meat processing complex, food
products. The amount of investment
for these projects will be approximately
50 billion tenge. I would like to mention
the project, thanks to which a meat
cluster will be created in Astana. This is
a project for the construction of a high-
tech meat-processing complex of a full
cycle worth more than 3 trillion tenge.
Production of 24,000 tons of meat
products per year is planned. In order
to implement the project, in November
2018, the first investment contract