Lola Abdukhalykova

Recent experience in PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP (PPP) AND PROJECT FINANCE:

Healthcare

• Advising Asian Development Bank and the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan as the public partner on the 300-bed multifunctional university hospital public-private partnership (PPP) project in Karaganda city. This is the ground-breaking and largest PPP project (“infrastructure PPP” model) in the healthcare system in Kazakhstan so far to be implemented following international best standards. GRATA assisted on all Kazakh law issues, including tender documentation preparation and with the improvement of the PPP legislation to make the project feasible and bankable (ongoing). 

Transport 

• Advising Turkish company YDA Insaat as a private partner on the groundbreaking PPP project in the transport sector of Kazakhstan – international airport in Turkestan city. The airport was commissioned in September 2020.

Education

• Advising a private partner on a project of construction and operation of several schools in regions of Kazakhstan, including advice on structuring of the project and its financing using the state assignment mechanism, review and commenting of the draft PPP agreement. Legal structuring of the project is to be used for implementation of future school projects in Kazakhstan.

Improvement of the Legal Framework

• Advising the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the improvement of the PPP and concession legislation of Kazakhstan from an international best practices perspective. The corresponding changes were made to the by-laws regulating PPP and concessions.

Infrastructure

• Advising a foreign investor on one of the largest investment projects in Kazakhstan – the world-scale an integrated cracker and polyethylene plant project in West Kazakhstan including working on intergovernmental and host-government agreements and negotiations with state authorities of Kazakhstan. Project value is approximately USD 6.5 bln (current project).

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS IN POWER SECTOR

Wind Energy

• Advising the Financial Settlement Center of Renewable Energy, a state-owned subsidiary of the Kazakhstani system operator, a single off-taker, through USAID on a 1 GW wind powerplant project. GRATA worked with an intergovernmental agreement between Kazakhstan and France which sets out a special legal framework for the project, reviewed and commented on draft agreement on investment and draft power purchase agreement between Total Eren and the single offtaker.

Water Energy 

• Advising Asian Development Bank on the development of the Hydropower Program aimed at improvement of investment attractiveness of relevant legislation for hydro power plants and other renewable energy projects in the Republic of Kazakhstan. GRATA identified legal impediments for development of hydro power plants projects and other renewable energy projects and drafted legislative amendments (ongoing).

Solar energy 

• Advising foreign investor on investment into 25MW, 35MW and 40 MW Solar Power Projects in South Kazakhstan, including general advice on renewable energy projects legal framework in Kazakhstan, conducting due diligence of the projects, advising on land issues, regulatory approvals required for the projects, PPA and other legal matters.

Gas

• Advising Turkey's global energy brand Aksa Energy on the implementation of the combined heat and power (CHP) gas power plant project in Kyzylorda city, Kazakhstan. The new gas power plant set to be completed by the end of 2025 will enable to fully meet the demands of locals in heat and electricity, with a capacity of 240 MW of electricity and 277Ggal of thermal energy per hour in Kyzylorda city. This project is the largest project implemented in Kazakhstan during the years of independence of Kazakhstan in the energy sector at the expense of foreign investor. This is a debut and unprecedented project implemented under the newly created legal framework for implementation of gas power plants projects based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. GRATA lawyers advised client on all Kazakh law issues and assisted in drafting and negotiation of all major transaction agreements, including, among others, so-called capacity purchase agreement (CPA) with the state-owned single offtaker and the so-called investment agreement (IA) with the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan. 

Electric and Heat Energy

• Advising European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on secured co-financing of Pavlodar Heat Network LLP and Petropavlovsk Heat Network LLP, natural monopolies providing services in heat distribution, together with the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan (by the way of subsidies under the state subsidy program for heat, water supply and waste water systems modernisation). 

Improvement of the Legislation

• Advising European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the project of Support to Drafting a Law On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan Concerning the Transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Green Economy including analysis of current legal framework on transition to “green” economy in such sectors like water/wastewater, solid waste management, urban transport, district heating and cooling to determine legal impediments and issues; participation in the working groups and meetings with representatives of state authorities and authorised organisations which activities is associated with transition to “green” economy in such sectors like water/wastewater, solid waste management, urban transport, district heating and cooling; drafting relevant legislative amendments.