DEAL NEWS: Salans have been engaged by UAE-based developer Aldar Properties in a project to construct the tallest building in Central Asia—the Abu Dhabi Plaza in Kazakhstan.
Located in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, the project involves the construction of a 382m-tall main building which will be encircled by several other towers of differing heights. Upon completion, which is expected to be around 2012, the Abu Dhabi Plaza will become the world's 14th tallest building at an estimated cost of over US$1bn. The plaza will provide office, hotel and residential space, and will be connected to the Astana International Airport by a monorail.
Salans partner Abai Shaikenov, who is based in the Almaty office, advised Aldar on tax and legal issues, and on negotiations between the Kazakh and UAE governments.
Although oil-rich Kazakhstan has been luring interest from Chinese corporations recently—a US$11bn deal to construct the gas pipeline crossing Central Asia to China is one example—cross-border deals are more likely to happen with Middle Eastern economies. In 2008, the Kazakh government announced that the UAE had become the country's major trade and investment partner, and economic ties have been further strengthened with a number of new deals signed between the two countries. In addition to this project, the Abu Dhabi-based oil company IPIC is investing US$1bn in oil and gas projects in Kazakhstan.
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