China National Petroleum Corporation provides $95.08 million for the construction of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography (Linked to Project ID#88564 and #73482)

On December 4, 2013, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) signed a memorandum with the Kazakhstani Ministry of Education and Science for the establishment of the Kazakh National Academy of Choreography in Astana. CNPC provided funds for the academy at the request of President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev as a gift for the 25th anniversary of Kazakhstan's independence. CNPC provided $95.08 million for the academy. The construction of the academy had a total cost of $153 million; Kazakhstani-state owned National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC provided the remaining $58 million. Some of the funds provided by CNPC were used on the construction of the main stage of the Astana Ballet Theater, which included a 783-seat auditorium and a modern and innovative lighting system for performance. The academy consisted of a school building, an office building, a residential building, and the Astana Ballet Theater. The educational building had classrooms, a teachers’ room, an indoor garden, a cafeteria, a library, a sports hall, and other rooms. There were 21 rehearsal rooms. The residential building consisted of dormitories and rent-free staff apartments. The academy had an area of 9.5 hectares. The academy was the first institution of higher education in Central Asia to have a full cycle of choreographic education. The academy was designated as a national institution of higher education. It had programs ranging from the basics of dance and ballet training to master’s and doctoral programs. The academy taught classical ballet, traditional Kazakh dance, and modern dance. Once the students were enrolled, the Government of Kazakhstan would cover all expenses. Kazakhstani construction company Bazis-A was responsible for project implementation. Swedish company Gustafs Scandinavia AB and Russian firm Eurostroysoyuz provided materials and designs for the interior of the theatre. Construction had begun by June 2014, and the school was expected to be open in April 2016. President Nazarbayev opened the academy on August 31, 2016.

Additional details

1. The Chinese name of the academy is 哈萨克斯坦国家舞蹈学院. A Chinese project title (using an alternative version of the school name) is 阿斯塔纳兴建国立舞蹈学院的工作. The Chinese name of the agreement signed in December 2013 was《关于在阿斯塔纳建设民族舞蹈与芭蕾舞学院的备忘录》. There are many alternative names for the academy in English. They include the National Academy of Dance, the High School of Choreography, the Higher School of National Dance and Ballet, the Astana National Dance Academy, and the National Dance Academy of Kazakhstan. 2. No source used the phrase "donated" or "granted" to describe CNPC's contribution, instead they used "provided" or "invested"; however, concerning the nature of this project, the flow type was clearly a grant and was coded as such. "Year uncertain" box was checked because the memorandum signed in December 2013 may have been a memorandum of understanding, and therefore not a complete commitment. 2013 remained the commitment year in the absence of another instance of an agreement made in a different year. 3. CNPC donated a minibus to the academy before the Astana Expo in 2017, as captured by Project ID#88564. CNPC later donated ₸10 million KZT ($27,117 USD) in 2018 to help finance the academy's purchase medical equipment, as captured via Project ID#73482.

Number of official sources

17

Number of total sources

24