Singaporean company Changi Airports International (CAI) has agreed with Kazakhstan to participate in the construction of a new Astana airport. The company may also join the management and operational activities of the capital's existing airport.
WHAT IS KNOWN
The Astana Akimat, the Ministry of Transport and CAI signed a Framework Co-operation Agreement. The document cemented agreements in two areas — the construction of a new airport and the development of the existing Astana International Airport.
The new airport is being created as part of the instruction of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to form an international aviation hub and develop the transit potential of the capital.
WHAT ELSE CAI DOES
The second area of the agreement provides for co-operation on the existing Astana International Airport. CAI may participate in its management, operational activities (O&M) and other areas of development.
The final structure of the partnership has not yet been determined. The parties are agreeing on the terms of project implementation and preparing the necessary documents.
WHEN THE NEGOTIATIONS BEGAN
In August 2026, Changi Airport Group expressed its readiness to provide Kazakhstan with expertise for the construction of a new airport and the development of Astana as a regional aviation hub. After that, the Kazakh delegation held a meeting with CAI representatives in Singapore.
The agreement signed on 23 September 2026 became the next stage of the negotiations. The document was signed by Deputy Akim of Astana Yevgeniy Glotov, Vice-Minister of Transport Talgat Lastayev and CAI Chief Executive Officer Eugene Gan.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT CHANGI AIRPORTS INTERNATIONAL
Changi Airports International is a subsidiary of Changi Airport Group and is engaged in investment, management and consulting in the airport sector. According to CAI itself, the company has experience working in more than 90 airports in 35 countries.
Under the new agreement, the company is to provide this experience for the new Astana airport project.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE CORRUPTION CASE
The company's history also includes a corruption case involving one of its former employees. In 2019, the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau of Singapore reported charges against the company's former director of development, James Lim Liong Ghee.
According to the bureau, he received 215,237 Singapore dollars (about 75 million tenge at the current exchange rate) in 98 instances from the director of IT company First Tel Tech. The investigation also accused him of participating in the forgery of commercial proposals that were used to obtain CAI contracts.
In March 2020, Lim pleaded guilty to 22 charges, including corruption and document forgery-related charges. The court sentenced him to 45 weeks' imprisonment.
At the same time, this concerned specifically a former CAI employee. A company representative said that Lim had stopped working at CAI back in 2017.
CONTEXT
Earlier, FBRK analysed the financial statements of JSC "Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport" for 2024. The statements recorded that the auditor refused to vouch for 80% of the company's assets, the airport lost a court case to the state for 395.4 million tenge, and the difference between the nominal amount of the debt and its present value due to the instalment plan was reflected as income of about 64.9 million tenge. At the same time, the statements nowhere explained what exactly the violations consisted of, because of which the airport ended up owing the budget almost 400 million.
Later, the FBRK editorial team sent a request to the airport about the circumstances of the court dispute with the Committee for Internal State Audit (CISA) of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan over 395.4 million tenge. The airport refused to answer the request, but after the editorial team's appeals to state bodies, the company eventually provided a response.
In its response, the airport said that the prosecutor had issued an opinion to satisfy the claim and cancel the order regarding compensation to the budget of 395.4 million tenge, and it explains the switch to the instalment plan by the "difficult financial situation" and concern for the "social stability of employees".