Company Once Tied to Bolat Nazarbayev’s Daughter at Center of Construction Cost Surge in Project

Lawyer Bibek Zhunusov has drawn attention to a drastic rise in the cost of a construction project in the Almaty region — from 7.6 to 28.1 billion tenge — publishing the related documents on Instagram and tagging President Qasym-Jomart Toqayev, Orda.kz reports.

According to the documents, the increase stems from an additional agreement to public procurement contract No. 251/09/22, signed on October 5, 2022, between the Almaty Region Construction Department and TOLAGAI-2050 LLP.

The amendment, dated August 5, 2024, raised the project’s value from 7.61 billion to 28.13 billion tenge, while VAT rose from 815.5 million to 3.4 billion tenge.

The document bears the signatures of regional construction head Mukhamedgarif Kurmangaliyev and TOLAGAI-2050 director Kanat Nyshanov. The work is funded under the state program Development of Agricultural Facilities for 2023–2024, using transfers from the republican budget.

From December 2020 to February 2022, Akbota Nazarbayeva — daughter of the late Bolat Nazarbayev — was among the company’s founders. During that period, TOLAGAI-2050 secured 37 state contracts worth 47.2 billion tenge. The current director and owner, Orazkhan Zhanysbekov, worked alongside her and remained in charge after she exited.

In June 2025, the firm was renamed TOLAGAI GLOBAL.

The company has been linked to troubled projects before. It won a contract for 15 border outposts worth 40 billion tenge but reportedly spent only 35% of the allocated funds and sought deadline extensions.

Deputy Aidos Sarym cited widespread complaints about construction quality, the firm’s involvement in dozens of lawsuits, and what he called inaction by the Ministry of Transport despite risks to state security.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov