Almaty, 21 October. In the Kairat microdistrict of Almaty's Turksib district, demolition has begun of the Zhetysu-Semirechye market's retail premises with a total area of 56,400 square metres: an inspection showed that Status Construction LLP had built them without permits.
The owner was first ordered to remedy the violations, and the akimat then filed a lawsuit for demolition. The specialised inter-district economic court ruled that the illegal structures be demolished, and the Almaty city court upheld that ruling. According to the urban development control department, the owner is carrying out the demolition himself.
Zhetysu-Semirechye is described as the largest market in Almaty: the retail space being demolished is comparable in size to several football pitches. How many tenants worked in these premises and where they will move is not stated in the reports.
Building permits are above all a check of a project's safety: the strength of structures, fire exits and utility networks. A building without them may be dangerous for the people who work and shop there, which is why the law allows such structures to be demolished by court order.
What it means: A large Almaty market that operated for years in premises built without construction permits is being demolished on the rulings of two courts.
Who benefits: The decision meets safety requirements and the interests of the city, which sought demolition through the courts; the losers are the owner, who invested in an illegal building, and the tenants, who will have to look for new places to trade.
Background: The Almaty akimat sought demolition through the courts after the owner failed to comply with the order to remedy the violations.
List of sources used: Vlast.kz, Zakon.kz, Informburo, Kazinform
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
