Foreign managers may take control over three airports in Kazakhstan

Control over the airports of Aktobe, Turkestan and Kyzylorda might be transferred to foreigners / Photo: Shutterstock and Freepik

According to Kazakhstan’s Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev, the government is planning to pass control over the airports of Aktobe, Turkestan and Kyzylorda to large foreign managing companies with expertise in this field.

As the minister noted, the country’s government is trying to garner the attention of private investors with the necessary knowledge and skills to establish multi-modal centers in the country’s airports. Under this concept, airport runways, fuel stations as well as passenger and cargo terminals are being repaired. For instance, in the airport of Karaganda, an investor wants to upgrade a runway strip and purchase the necessary equipment. The government estimates that around $2.4 billion of private investment, including money from foreign investors, will be allocated for the reconstruction of airports.

«Next year, an investor from the UAE will start the reconstruction of the runway in the airports of the capital city of Astana, which is one of the top priorities for the managing company determined by the country’s leadership. The company will cover all costs with its own funds. Also, in 2024, investors will launch maintenance of runways in the airports of Pavlodar and Balkhash,» Karabayev said.

The Almaty International Airport has been under the control of the Turkish holding TAV Airports since April 2021. The company is a beneficiary owner of 85% shares of the airport and affiliated companies engaged in fuel and catering supply. Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund managed by VPE Capital controls the remaining 15%.

In February 2023, the Russian company Airports of Regions acquired Oral International Airport, a managing company for the airport of the town of Uralsk.

Moreover, the Ministry of Transport plans to complete the construction of new passenger terminals in Shymkent in March, Kyzylorda in May and Almaty in June with the help of $328 million of private investments. Once these projects are done, the capacity of the airport in Almaty is expected to rise by five times (from 2.5 million to 14 million passengers), in Kyzylorda by six times (from 300,000 to 2 million) and in Shymkent by seven times (from 800,000 to 6 million passengers).

According to Karabayev, over the first 11 months of this year, Kazakhstani airlines carried 12.3 million passengers, which is about 25% higher than the same period last year (10 million passengers). At the same time, airports reported an increase in the number of passengers who used their services by 25% from 19.2 million to 24 million. The amount of processed cargo has risen by 16% to 130,000 tons.

In 2023, Kazakhstani airlines acquired ten aircraft. As a result, their combined carrying capacity increased by 26% and reached 15,200 seats. The country’s fleet will be increased by 25 new aircraft to 124 planes in total by 2025. In turn, this will boost the number of seats by a third, airline tickets will be cheaper and airports will report fewer delays, the minister underlined. In order to facilitate the development of cargo transportation, the government wants to establish three new cargo carriers. This measure will help to boost the amount of processed cargo by eight times.