Iran Wants to Build a Casino in the Kenderli Resort
The Kenderli resort complex is located on the coast of the Caspian Sea, 210 km from Aktau. There are all conditions for amazing recreations on the shore of the warm sea gulf. That is why the Kenderli resort has become popular over 12 years not only among many Kazakhstanis but also among visitors from other regions. During the season, which lasts only 4 months, thousands of tourists from Kazakhstan and other states, especially from Iran, want to attend this resort. Therefore, Kenderli is waiting for a large construction project.
Casinos in Kazakhstan
It should be noted that there is a program for development of national tourism projects in Kazakhstan. Their costs reach about 7.653 billion dollars. The development of the Kenderli resort is a part of this program, and the Kenderli project costs roughly $3.3 billion. The investments that will have been provided by 2020 reach 1.96 billion dollars. According to Daniyar Bektibaev, a Vice Head of the Committee for Tourism in the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies:
The project involves the construction of 22 hotels and 16.4 thousand residences with 60 thousand beds (among them, 40 thousand accommodation places are intended for tourists and 20 thousand beds are designed for employees and their families). According to the project, it is necessary to build urban retail centers, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, three golf courses, a marina, and various public facilities for the local population.
Investors from Iran are interested in the project for development of the Kenderli resort. The Iranian tourism companies offer to open casinos there, which will make this resort very attractive for Iranian tourists. Kenderli was attended by representatives of the Iranian Almas Tejerat holding company in spring. They discussed a possibility to invest in this Kazakhstan’s resort. Investors want to come back several times.
According to travel agencies of Iran, the main flow of Iranian tourists moves towards Dubai, Turkey, Georgia, and Armenia. Taking into account the fact that the flight from the Iranian capital Tehran with a population of 20 million individuals to Kenderli lasts for an hour, we can assume that players will prefer the casinos that are located nearer, provided that the same high level of services is available. The biggest problem is the lack of airport in Kenderli. However this problem is now being actively solved. Rakhimbek Amirzhanov, a Deputy Akim of the Kazakhstan's Mangystau Region, said: "Today we are negotiating, and we have already received an offer from Chinese companies that they are willing to invest in the construction of an airport in Kenderli".