Almaty Railway Bypass Project (MIGA-15432)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Kazakhstan
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Almaty
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Approved
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
A
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Aug 4, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Standard Chartered (Hong Kong) Limited
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Infrastructure
  • Transport
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Guarantee
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 113.02 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 336.99 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 272
Converted using 2025-08-04 exchange rate.
Media Documents
Other Related Projects
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ MIGA website

Updated in EWS May 28, 2026

Disclosed by Bank Apr 29, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the MIGA, the Government of Kazakhstan developed a Concept for the development of Transport and Logistics Potential in the country until 2030 with the objective of turning Kazakhstan into a large transit and logistics hub in Central Asia. Under this transport concept, the Middle Corridor - a strategically important trade route linking China, Central Asia, the Caspian region, and Europe - has been receiving considerable attention due to its potential to enhance regional connectivity and promote economic integration. The Middle Corridor serves as a transport route connecting Central Asia countries and China and Europe through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, the Caspian Sea and Georgia.

Notwithstanding its geographical importance, the Middle Corridor remains underdeveloped as it has more border crossings, more transshipment, operational inefficiencies, and infrastructure bottlenecks.

Toward this end, the national railway company, Joint-stock Company "National Company "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" ("KTZ") has developed an investment plan for the development of the Middle Corridor, including the construction of the Almaty Railway Bypass Project, a 130 km electrified railway line bypassing the logistics bottleneck around the Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, while enhancing cargo transportation along the Middle Corridor. The Project cost, estimated at CHF 272 million, will be financed by loans from the International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ("AIIB"), and Standard Chartered Bank to KTZ. These loans will also be guaranteed by the Joint-stock Company "Sovereign Wealth Fund "Samruk Kazyna" ("Samruk Kazyna"), the sole shareholder of KTZ.

MIGA's Non-Honoring of Financial Obligations of a State-Owned Enterprise (NHFO-SOE) cover is to guarantee the financial obligation of Samruk Kazyna, that provides a guarantee on up to CHF 83.53 million ten-year loan from Standard Chartered Bank to KTZ to finance the construction of the Almaty Bypass.

MIGA Gross Guarantee Amount is CHF 88.94 million (USD 113.02 million), covering the loan principal amount and future interest.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the MIGA, KTZ is a vertically integrated group and is a 100% state-owned enterprise (via Samruk-Kazyna). The group owns and operates all the state railway network and is the country's largest owner of rolling stock. KTZ plays a key role in the national and regional transport system, providing economic connectivity with regions of Kazakhstan, and with five neighboring countries, rendering KTZ as one of the 15 largest railway companies in the world in terms of freight turnover.

Samruk Kazyna is a State-Owned Sovereign Wealth Fund in Kazakhstan mandated to control and manage 21 strategic SoEs (including KTZ) to support the welfare of the economy. Samruk Kazyna's assets account for around 30% of the country's GDP.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
JSC "SWF Samruk-Kazyna" (SKKZ) Parent Company Finance owns JSC National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Client Transport
Standard Chartered Bank Investor Finance invests in JSC National Company Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Client Transport

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No project contacts provided at the time of disclosure.

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can submit a request for information disclosure at: https://www.miga.org/contact/access_to_information

You can also request general information about MIGA and for information on guarantees by emailing: migainquiry@worldbank.org

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC/MIGA

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org

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