Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised an international consortium of sponsors, Alsim Alarko Sanayi Tesisleri ve Ticaret A.Ş, Makyol İnşaat Sanayi Turizm ve Ticaret A.Ş., SK Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. and Korea Expressway Corporation on the development and financing of the US$750 million Big Almaty Ring Motor Road (BAKAD).
"This is the first infrastructure public-private partnership of its type and magnitude in Kazakhstan and Central Asia and is also the first significant privately financed project outside the oil and gas sector in Kazakhstan," said White & Case partner Maxim Telemtayev, who co-led the Firm's deal team. "It demonstrates that a private sector financing of this scale, with a significant national economic impact, can be closed successfully during the time of economic slowdown due to the global pandemic. For White & Case, it demonstrates the strength of our local and global expertise and our ability to work seamlessly across borders."
The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2024, entails the development of a 66km toll road aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Almaty and creating a bypass for commercial vehicles. It is implemented under a 20-year build-operate-transfer concession agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development of Kazakhstan and a project company established by the sponsor consortium.
International development banks the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) are providing long term financing, including an Islamic finance tranche, to finance the construction, operation and maintenance of the project.
The White & Case team that advised on the transaction included partners Maxim Telemtayev (Nur-Sultan), Sebastian Buss, Asli Basgoz (both Istanbul) and Caroline Miller Smith (London), and associates Seyfi Can Kandemir, Amy Watts, Paddy Mohen (all London), Tatyana Lee and Almas Zhali (both Nur-Sultan).
Press contact
For more information please speak to your local media contact.
