Key Amendments to Kazakhstan Engineering and Construction Licensing Regime Expected Imminently

A number of important amendments aimed at improving the licensing regime in the spheres of engineering and construction are due to be introduced to the Unified Qualification Requirements and the List of Documents Confirming Compliance Therewith to Implement Activities in the Fields of Architecture, Urban Planning and Construction ("Licensing Regulations") in July. Dechert lawyers were instrumental in securing these amendments as members of the Licensing Working Group established by the American Chamber of Commerce in Kazakhstan (“AmCham”) and the Ministry of Investments and Development of Kazakhstan (the “Ministry”). 

The key amendments set to be introduced to the Licensing Regulations are as follows: 

• The licenses that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) issues to engineering and construction personnel of foreign applicants for said licenses will be recognized within Kazakhstan. Thus, engineering and construction professionals licensed in any OECD-member state will not have to go through the local attestation procedure. 
• The Licensing Regulations will be made more flexible to facilitate the granting of licenses to foreign companies generally. Foreign license applicants will be able to submit evidence of past projects without the need for Kazakhstan-style “Acts of Acceptance”. 
• The "joint venture exemption" is modified. It will exempt joint venture ("JV") applicants from the “work experience” and “completed projects” requirements if one or more Kazakhstan legal entities in the aggregate owns at least 40% of the joint venture and one of the Kazakhstan owners already holds the required license. 
• The “JV exemption” is also expanded. JV applicants for a Category 1 construction license will not need to own a production base, but they will be allowed to lease it. 

The above amendments were agreed between AmCham and the Ministry’s Construction, Housing and Communal Property Committee (the “Committee”) after a lengthy negotiation process that went on for more than two years. The Ministry is now in the process of agreeing the proposed amendments with other state agencies and plans to enact them shortly. 

We will keep you apprised of developments. The Dechert team is ideally placed to assist your business with any legal issues pertaining to the engineering and/or construction licensing regime. In addition to deep legal expertise in this sector, our team has been involved in negotiations on this topic held with the Committee, the Ministry, AmCham, the Ministry of National Economy, Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs and other institutions. We therefore have an in-depth understanding of how the Licensing Regulations and other pertinent laws operate in practice and the main personalities involved.