Atakent

Atakent is a large business cooperation and exhibition complex in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Its activities center on exhibitions, fairs, conferences, commercial presentations, and other events intended to connect businesses, public institutions, industrial sectors, and international partners. The complex is designed as a free-visit public area and has historically presented scientific, industrial, agricultural, technological, cultural, and healthcare achievements. The institution’s roots lie in the Soviet-era Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the Kazakh SSR, commonly associated with the Russian abbreviation VDNKh or EANE. The republican exhibition was established in the autumn of 1955 as a venue for displaying scientific and economic accomplishments and for promoting exemplary practices across sectors of the economy. In 1959, authorities selected a roughly 100-hectare site west of Almaty’s Botanical Garden for a permanent complex. Construction was delayed beyond the original schedule, and the exhibition opened to the public in June 1961. The Soviet exhibition was not merely a commercial venue. It served an educational and ideological role by presenting selected examples of agricultural production, industrial output, scientific research, engineering, and public-sector achievement. The development of the complex involved specialists and leaders connected with Kazakhstan’s national economy. Bayan Kuttyzhulovich Dzhumashev is identified in reference material as having led the republican exhibition organization from its creation and through the later Soviet period. During the economic and political changes of the 1990s, the function of the former national-economy exhibition was reconsidered. The complex was repositioned as a modern business cooperation center intended to support economic and industrial-commercial relations and to help integrate Kazakhstan’s economy with international markets. The decisive institutional change came through the creation of Kazakhstan Business Cooperation Center Atakent as a joint-stock company with state participation under Government Decree No. 688 of August 26, 1992. The new organization was formed on the property complex of the former exhibition of national economic achievements. Atakent’s site includes exhibition and information pavilions, indoor halls, open-air display areas, and supporting facilities. Reference descriptions characterize the overall territory as approximately 650,000 square meters, with landscaped areas, wooded sections, flowerbeds, water features, and recreational infrastructure. The complex has also been associated with facilities such as a water park and the Bakhyt wedding palace. Its subsidiaries and affiliated businesses have included Atakent-Expo, Exhibition Service, the Atakent-Trade international trading house, Atakent-Strakhovaiie, Atakent-Hotel, and the Kazakh-German joint venture Atadan. Architecturally, the original exhibition buildings used pavilion-style forms, metal structural frames, extensive glazing, high stylobates, truss-supported roofs, and large showroom interiors. The complex’s main exhibition spaces were accompanied by service rooms, information facilities, and exterior exposition areas. A major entrance reconstruction took place in 1983, when lancet arches replaced the earlier pylons associated with flagpoles; the ticket-office pavilions were also renovated. Later changes modified some pavilions and exterior elements as the site adapted to contemporary business and event requirements. Today, Atakent’s brand is best understood as a venue and business-services platform rather than a consumer product brand. Its role combines exhibition infrastructure, event hosting, business networking, commercial representation, and the presentation of domestic and foreign technologies and equipment. Publicly available reference material does not establish a complete current ownership chart, executive roster, financial profile, or event calendar, so those details remain limited in this dossier.

Atakent developed from Kazakhstan’s Soviet-era national economic exhibition system. The Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the Kazakh SSR was founded in autumn 1955 to display scientific, industrial, agricultural, and technological accomplishments and to circulate examples of successful economic practice. A permanent site was selected in 1959 on approximately 100 hectares west of Almaty’s Botanical Garden. The exhibition complex opened to the public in June 1961 after construction took longer than initially planned. The original complex followed the pavilion-based exhibition model common to Soviet achievement exhibitions. Its buildings used metal frames, glazed walls, high stylobates, truss roofs, and large showroom interiors. The principal composition was organized around what is now Auezov Street, then referred to as the Fifth Line, with an entrance forecourt. Exhibition pavilions and open-air areas allowed the institution to display machinery, agricultural production, industrial goods, scientific work, and other examples of economic development. The site also contained landscaped and recreational elements. A major architectural intervention occurred in 1983. The entrance was redesigned by architects associated with Almatygiprogor, with lancet arches replacing the earlier entrance pylons used for flagpoles. Ticket-office structures and related entrance elements were also renewed. The changes reflected the continuing use of the complex while preserving its role as a prominent exhibition site in Almaty. The transition away from the Soviet economic system prompted a rethinking of the institution’s purpose during the 1990s. Rather than continuing solely as a state-organized showcase of national economic achievements, the former exhibition complex was converted into a business-oriented platform. Kazakhstan Business Cooperation Center Atakent was established as a joint-stock company with state participation by Government Decree No. 688 of August 26, 1992. It was formed on the property complex of the former exhibition center. The Atakent model broadened the site’s commercial and institutional functions. The center began to emphasize business cooperation, industrial and commercial relations, economic integration, and contact between Kazakhstan and international markets. Its program included international, national, and thematic exhibitions, trade fairs, conventions, and conferences. The complex also became associated with subsidiary and affiliated organizations covering exhibition services, trading, insurance, hospitality, and other support functions. Atakent occupies a substantial landscaped territory in Almaty. Descriptions of the site refer to roughly 650,000 square meters, with pavilions, outdoor exposition grounds, tree-covered areas, flowerbeds, water cascades, and recreational facilities. A water park and the Bakhyt wedding palace are among the facilities associated with the broader complex. Individual pavilions and exterior areas have been modified over time to meet changing exhibition and event requirements. The center’s continuing identity rests on the combination of public exhibition infrastructure and business services. It provides a setting for displaying domestic and foreign equipment, technologies, products, and institutional achievements while facilitating commercial meetings and professional events. Public reference material confirms the center’s historical development and broad functions but does not provide a complete current list of executives, ownership interests, financial results, or regularly recurring branded campaigns.

• 1992

  Atakent business cooperation center established

  [1]Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org

  Government Decree No. 688 established Kazakhstan Business Cooperation Center Atakent as a state-participated joint-stock company on the former exhibition property complex.

• 1983

  Entrance architecture reconstructed

  [1]Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org

  The entrance was remodeled with lancet arches, and the ticket-office pavilions were renovated.

• 1961

  Exhibition complex opened to the public

  [1]Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org

  The permanent exhibition complex opened in June after construction was delayed from the original schedule.

• 1959

  Permanent exhibition site selected

  [1]Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org

  A site of approximately 100 hectares west of Almaty’s Botanical Garden was selected for a permanent exhibition complex.

• 1955

  Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy of the Kazakh SSR founded

  [1]Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org

  The predecessor institution was established as a national economic exhibition focused on presenting scientific, industrial, agricultural, and technological achievements.

A national and international exhibition and business-cooperation platform that connects Kazakhstan’s economic sectors with domestic and foreign companies, technologies, and commercial partners.

• Exhibition venue · 1961

  Exhibition pavilions

  Indoor pavilion space used for international, national, and thematic exhibitions, product presentations, industrial displays, and business events. The buildings derive from the former national-economy exhibition complex and have been modified over time for contemporary event use.

• Exhibition venue · 1961

  Open-air exposition areas

  Outdoor areas within the Atakent territory provide space for displaying large equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery, construction products, and other exhibits that require open-air presentation.

• Business events · 1992

  Conventions and conferences

  Atakent hosts professional gatherings, conventions, conferences, and meetings intended to support business contacts, sectoral dialogue, and commercial cooperation between Kazakhstan-based and international participants.

• Business support

  Atakent subsidiary services

  Reference material associates the center with businesses covering exhibition services, international trading, insurance, hospitality, and related support functions, including Atakent-Expo, Exhibition Service, Atakent-Trade, Atakent-Strakhovaiie, Atakent-Hotel, and Atadan.

• 1992

  Conversion of the former national exhibition into a business cooperation centerStrategy

  Background

  The economic and institutional changes of the 1990s led to a reassessment of the Soviet-era exhibition model and its role in Kazakhstan’s emerging market economy.

  Action taken

  The Government of Kazakhstan established Atakent as a joint-stock company with state participation on the property complex of the former Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy.

  Aftermath

  The complex adopted a broader commercial and international role, emphasizing exhibitions, fairs, conferences, business cooperation, and economic integration.

  Source

1. 1Atakent (business cooperation center)en.wikipedia.org
2. 2Atakent official websiteaoatakent.kz