Kazakhstan wants UAE holding to continue managing Astana airport

According to the Ministry of Finance of Kazakhstan, Terminals Astana Airport Management, a company controlled by investors from the UAE, will remain responsible for managing the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport until Jan. 7, 2025. The company received the right to manage the airport a year ago, on Nov. 7, 2023.

«The confidential management agreement is still valid, as the period of its validity has been extended to Jan. 7, 2025,» the Committee of State Property and Privatization under the Finance Ministry told Kursiv.media in response to its inquiry.

The committee also noted that all information regarding the management of the airport is confidential, refusing to provide any details of the contract. The agency has also declined to reveal who will be the new managing company if the contract with the current managing company is completed.

«Regarding the terms of the agreement for transferring the state’s stake in the airport into trust management, both sides have agreed that all information in the contract is confidential, and both sides must take all necessary measures to protect that information. Therefore, it is not possible to disclose the terms of the deal involving the shares of the Astana airport. Regarding the purchase of the state’s stake in the Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, we confirm that the confidential management agreement is valid until Jan. 7, 2025 (as the period of validity was changed) without the right for a purchase option,» the agency reported to Kursiv.

Terminals Astana Airport Management, which is part of Terminals Holding from the UAE, has been managing the Astana airport without the right to purchase it over the past twelve months; the contract was set to expire on Nov. 7. The investor planned to develop the Astana airport as a multimodal hub. The UAE holding promised to modernize the airport runway, which it did earlier this year. Moreover, the company was expected to prepare a long-term business plan for the airport’s development to serve the interests of both the government and Terminals Holding.

Kazakhstan’s government has never disclosed the terms of the contract with the foreign investor, Terminals Holding, which is a supplier of airport and aviation services. The company provides services to various customers in Asia and Africa, with experience in constructing, operating and managing international airports. It is a sister company to Abu Dhabi Ports Group, which collaborates with KazMunayGas, the national oil company in Kazakhstan and a subsidiary of the state-run Samruk-Kazyna fund.

In Central Asia, Terminals Holding is also developing the Navoy airport in Uzbekistan. One of its subsidiaries, TISL Management Services, is managing two airports in Somalia: Bosaso and Berbera. According to the company’s website, Terminals Holding manages assets worth $2 billion.