By Robert Besser

BI Group is an international investment and development company with twenty-eight years in the construction of residential and commercial real estate, as well as the engineering and construction of social and infrastructural facilities. According to the annual rating of the largest construction holdings in the world - the ENR Top-250 Global Contractors - BI Group leads the primary housing market in Kazakhstan. In 2022, the holding was ranked 193rd globally, and since their inception they have built more than seven million square meters of housing, industrial, and social infrastructure.

BI Group has been working on the concept of integrated development for many years, aiming to improve residential areas. The company is now setting a new goal for itself - the construction of bigvills. This concept involves creating a city within a city, promoting the idea of a comfortable and modern environment that meets the needs of its residents.

The company actively utilizes IT technologies in both its construction activities and its communication with customers. Specialized departments within the holding have developed and successfully introduced IT products to streamline work and service processes. These include: Bnect, a web portal and mobile app for convenient communication between partners; Central Dispatch System (CDS), a unique development by the holding company that provides quick access to and provision of heavy equipment services; and BIG App, an ecosystem comprised of all online services for BI Group customers, gathered in one application, where users can also search for and purchase real estate.

Informatization and the use of mobile services play a key role in modern business, especially in the real estate sector. For the BI Group holding managing residential complexes, this means the ability to collect and analyze large amounts of data necessary for effective maintenance of facilities. Processing of this data allows the company not only to identify trends and predict demand for services, but also to prepare in advance for possible customer requests.

History and achievements

In 1995, the foundation was laid for the largest construction holding company in Kazakhstan, starting with the prototype company "ABK-Kurylys". By 2001, BI Group was formed as an independent parent company. That same year saw rapid job growth within the company, with more than 1,000 new employees providing a functional organizational structure for the company moving forward. This allowed them to procure a large share of the real estate market back in the 2000s. Not one's to rest on their laurels, BI Group then branched out into the production of building materials, both increasing their production capacity and opening the door to commercial real estate, transport solutions, industrial facilities, and more.

The reorganization of the company into a holding in 2007 marked a key stage in the business's development, leading to a robust set of divisions: construction, industrial, investment, and development. Currently, this includes the following companies: BI Development, BI Construction & Engineering, and BI Education.

In 2014, BI Group was recognized as the only major developer in Kazakhstan. For the first time they were represented in the world ranking of the largest developers, the aforementioned ENR Top-250 Global Contractors, taking the 189th place. In the following years, BI Group actively built up Astana and Almaty, the capital cities of Kazakhstan. So, in just one year, in 2018 alone they provided the city with 7,000 apartments.

The next landmark for the holding came in 2021, with the sale of their first house in the capital, built in accordance with modular construction technology. The innovative structural blocks used for construction were manufactured at an in-house factory ModeX. BI Group has studied the best construction methods and practices from the United States, Singapore and Germany to reduce construction time and improve the quality of housing. For example, a sixteen-story residential complex with an area of nine thousand square meters was built in just six months.

By the end of 2023 the holding shifted focus to developing foreign construction markets. This started with the introduction of the BI brand to the Uzbek market. Simultaneously, BI Development pulled off the massive feat of constructing about 1.6 million square meters of housing in six different regions of Kazakhstan. The company also commissioned 57 residential complexes, thereby providing about twenty-seven thousand people with homes.

Their structural division, BI Service is responsible for providing high quality maintenance to a large number of residential buildings. In 2023, this division saw a massive expansion. It has served 6.9 million square meters of housing and a staggering four hundred thousand residents.

The Pillars of BI Group's Sustainable Development

BI Group is guided by the principles of E.S.G. E - environmental, S - social, and G - governance. Adherence to the first principle can be traced across each project, since caring for the environment is one of the priorities throughout the construction and engineering process. With this in mind, BI Group actively uses "green energy" in the construction of MBH, HC, and other infrastructure. They carry out all construction in accordance with environmental protection laws, and employ energy-saving technologies in their work to reduce consumption demands. In addition to significantly lowering the need for natural resources, such a policy also benefits residents financially, since one of the goals is effective heat preservation. Currently, BI is developing a methodology for calculating the environmental and financial indicators for their housing, and is working to certify this methodology.

The second principle is reflected in social and corporate policy. BI Group takes responsibility for the professional development and social welfare of its employees, which is why many years ago they oversaw the professional retraining of their management staff. For managers and directors of structural divisions they provide an opportunity to study and obtain an MBA degree from a leading educational institution.

A separate corporate policy is dedicated to the career growth of employees. The director of BI Group Askhat Omarov noted that in order to move up the corporate ladder, an employee is obliged to first train their successor. Introduction to a particular position involves not just familiarizing the applicant with documentation and responsibilities, but full-fledged mentorship throughout the year. In this way, the company independently cultivates qualified experts who have all the necessary competencies to do their jobs. This approach to job replacement minimizes "staff turnover" while at the same time reducing unemployment in the region. The largest holding company is expanding its range of activities and expertise on a daily basis, and therefore requires more human resources to support its growth.

Another important principle for growth involves the regular internal work of building overarching business processes and flattening vertical power structures. This allows the holding to nimbly adapt to any challenges that the market offers, regardless of who runs the company.

The Green District

BI Group is always on the cutting edge of modern trends and innovations in the construction industry, constantly expanding their expertise. At the moment this means affordable housing for the general population, premium class housing for those who can afford it, innovative residential complex projects, and hotels. The most exciting of these projects is the highly unique Green District project, certified in accordance with the Leadership Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system. The Green District is recognized as the most environmentally friendly and innovative project BI has offered thus far. It engenders a harmonious combination of urban elements and natural objects, creating a "mini-city" that provides everything one needs for a comfortable life, work, and quality rest.

Future Plans

The current management intends to continue pursuing advanced information technology solutions and actively apply them to the planning and construction stages of various facilities.

And more than just internal tasks, the holding is pursuing global goals such as entering the TOP 100 construction companies in the world and achieving a revenue of two billion dollars. This goal is certainly within reach, especially as the holding continues the comprehensive development of territories, the promotion of "green residential complexes", as well as popularizing the concept of "Bigvilles" (cities within a city). BI Group is the first developer to put forward the idea of such an ecosystem, where within the boundaries of Bigville the population will be able to satisfy all their wants and needs. The most significant advantage of such a plan is the fact that residents within the same residential area do not have to travel outside it to meet their needs. Examples of successfully implemented projects are the Bigvilles in Astana: Mod, Greenline, Nexpo, Jetisu, Capital Park, as well as many others in Almaty, Atyrau, and Shymkent.

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