KBTU Becomes State Property, Dinara Kulibayeva Loses Control

The Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU) has officially become state property, Orda.kz reports. As of February 27, 2025, the Nursultan Nazarbayev Education Fund is no longer among the university's shareholders.

According to an extract from the Ministry of Finance’s financial statements depository, KBTU is now under the control of the State Company for the Management of Returned Assets.

Founded in 2000 at the initiative of Nursultan Nazarbayev, KBTU became part of KazMunayGas in 2003, remaining under the national company’s ownership for 15 years. In 2018, it was sold to the Nursultan Nazarbayev Education Fund for 11.37 billion tenge.

However, concerns were raised over the transaction, with the Almaty prosecutor's office questioning whether the sale price had been undervalued.

In response, the Education Fund expressed willingness to return its primary KBTU asset — the university building at 59 Tole Bi—to the state. The building, formerly the Government House on Almaty’s Old Square, holds significant historical and cultural value.

Calls to transfer KBTU back to state ownership have intensified in recent years.

Yet, concerns remained over whether the government could manage the financial burden of maintaining and modernizing the university’s infrastructure. In January 2025, a fire broke out on the university's roof, though it was swiftly extinguished without no one harmed.

KBTU is consistently ranked among Kazakhstan’s top universities. Its building, a historical landmark, is where Kazakhstan’s Declaration of Independence was signed in 1991. The site is a national monument recognized for its cultural and historical significance.

Original Author: Dinara Bekbolayeva

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