Aqua Garden is a large residential project located in the Khan-Uul district of Ulaanbaatar. According to public information, the city provided land for the project and a permit to build a water park in 2008, but the site’s tenant later decided to build a luxury residential community.
In August 2023, by order of the then mayor of the capital D. Sumyabazar The decision was made to force the demolition of two riverside blocks and the Aqua Garden campus kindergarten, which were victims of severe flooding in July 2022. The official justified the decision by saying that the campus violates the protective zone of the Dund River basin: it supposedly slows down the flow of the river, which is why the natural disaster occurred. For this reason, all coastal buildings began to be at risk of flooding due to Aqua Garden facilities.
However, the decision is still being challenged in court, with one expert opinion contradicting another. Therefore, demolition work never began. The construction of the microdistrict continues without stopping. Moreover, the first four units will be commissioned in September 2025. According to the company’s CEO “EM&G Construction” (owner of Aqua Garden) A. Amarbayasgalana, all the facts indicate that the buildings cannot in any way affect the flow of the river, so the court will cancel the order of the ex-mayor.
The businessman also notes that informal negotiations are underway to hold public hearings on the construction of the blocks, but company representatives are not informed about their progress.
Capital officials do not comment publicly on the Aqua Garden case. They refer to the fact that they are responsible for monitoring buildings below 16 floors. The buildings above are supervised by the Ministry of Construction and Housing and Communal Services. Why then can the mayor of Ulaanbaatar calmly order the demolition of the blocks? Not clear. At a special meeting on August 31, MP G. Damdinyam inquired about the fate of Aqua Garden and received a response from Chairman of the Great Khural D. Amarbayasgalan.
In 2007, the government invited the M&G Construction company to implement the Altan Orgoө residential complex project near the Dund River. Then the district council and the city council jointly approved the allocation of land. In September 2008, the mayor of Ulaanbaatar T. Biligt transferred 11.8 hectares of land and issued a permit for residential construction.
However, in 2011 the permit was revoked. In 2013, mayor E.Bat-Uul changed the permit so that the company could not build residential units on the site. In 2018, the company received permission to build a water park and sports complex by order of the new mayor. In 2020, another mayor canceled the permit. The company, tired of the mayor’s leapfrog, went to court, which upheld the 2018 resolution.
Due to the uncertainty with the building permit, Aqua Garden was popularly called “Avliga khorolol” (“Corruption Quarter”). Residents of Mongolia see underlying corruption in the courts between the M&G Construction company and the mayor’s office of Ulaanbaatar. In addition, representatives of the company, even before 2018, publicly spoke about plans to build a water park, not a residential area. Apparently, a lot was discussed behind the scenes between the contractor and city hall officials.
In 2022, Mayor D. Sumyabazar returned permission for residential construction, which he himself began to challenge a year later. Since the demolition order for Aqua Garden in 2023 the court twice ruled in favor of M&G Construction.
