Kazakh millionaire teams up with Vietnamese partner to modernize resort

Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov, photo editor: Dastan Shanay

Kipros, a company controlled by Kazakhstani millionaire Timur Kulibayev, is set to invest around $427 million jointly with Vietnam’s Crystal Bay to modernize the Ak-Bulak ski resort in the Almaty region, as reported by the regional governor’s office. 

The investment will be allocated for building a golf club and expanding the hotel complex, with around 700 new jobs expected to be created. A topographical survey has already been completed, and development of the master plan is currently underway.

The governor’s office also announced plans to expand the Oi-Qaragai mountain resort, increasing its size nearly tenfold — from 105 hectares to 1,000 hectares.

«By 2028, 500 new jobs will be created there, with private investment totaling 83.2 billion tenge (approximately $153.2 million),» the administration emphasized.

The Department of Tourism noted that it is planned to boost annual tourist flow to the Almaty Mountain Cluster from 300,000 to 850,000 people.

Kipros’s activities include providing financial services apart from insurance and pension services, not included in other groups.

Crystal Bay is already present in Kazakhstan, operating as a tour operator under the name Crystal Bay Kazakhstan, owned by Bekdar Baizhanov, Rimma Duissengaliyeva and Vietnam’s Phu JSC Crystal Bay Tourism Group.

According to the company’s website, it is the official partner of Vietnam’s Crystal Bay Group and serves as the receiving office for Crystal Bay Tours Vietnam. The Kazakhstan office address is also listed on Crystal Bay’s website.

However, it has not been specified which part of Crystal Bay corporate structure will be directly involved in the Ak-Bulak resort modernization project.

Kazakhstan’s plans for the Almaty Mountain Cluster are quite ambitious. In late May, Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov was shown the Almaty Mountain Cluster development plan, which, according to the Tourism Industry Committee under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, is expected to become Central Asia’s largest year-round tourism project in by 2029.