The project owner of a new hotel complex under construction in Almaty is requesting funds from the state bank to complete the project. The developer’s founder is Sensata Construction Group, which was allegedly linked to the family of Kuandyk Bishimbayev, a former minister of national economy, who is now serving a jail sentence for the brutal murder of his spouse, Saltanat Nukenova.
The construction site is located at 140 Al-Farabi Avenue, near the official Lexus dealership. According to a construction billboard near the site, the hotel in question is Hilton Garden Inn, with the anticipated commissioning date set for Q3 of 2025.
Four floors have already been erected. The work is humming and construction machinery bearing the Sensata Group logos can be observed on the site. Two companies of the Sensata Group — Sensata Almaty and Sensata Construction — are founders of the Astana Reality Group, which is listed as a developer for Hilton Garden Inn.
Sensata achieved notoriety in March 2024, after a trial began for Kuandyk Bishimbayev, former minister of national economy, who was accused of murdering his wife Saltanat Nukenova. The victim’s brother Aitbek Amangeldi linked the company to the Bishimbayev family. Later, on Apr. 1, 2024, Sensata Group denied any connection to the Bishimbayevs.
Even though the construction billboard doesn’t feature information on the project owner, the Development Bank of Kazakhstan website lists a bid for the Hilton hotel construction in Almaty filed by Star Zem LLP, a company owned by Khakan Kassanov.
Judging by his last name and patronymic, he might be the son of Ussein Kassanov, former deputy of the Almaty region’s maslikhat (regional council). Ussein and his elder brother Ziyatdin were listed by Forbes Kazakhstan among the country’s wealthiest businessmen, with an estimated fortune of $140 million in 2019.
The brothers are prominent developers in Kazakhstan, owning Kazakhstan Hotel, the first high-rise building in Almaty built in 1977. As of 2019, the Kassanovs owned Ambassador Hotel Almaty, Premier Alatau Hotel, Atrium Shopping Center, Arena Shopping Center and Intercontinental Istanbul, a five-star hotel in the largest Turkish city.
