Almaty airport secures $670 million syndicated loan
The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) has acted as an anchor lender, providing $100 million of the total $670 million syndicated loan arranged by Bank of America to further develop Almaty International Airport, the EDB announced.
«The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) acts as a senior co-lender in the financing of Almaty International Airport as part of a syndicate arranged by Bank of America. The total financing will amount to $670 million, with the EDB contributing $100 million,» the bank said in a statement.
Almaty International Airport is Kazakhstan’s busiest airport in passenger and cargo traffic, as well as the largest aviation hub in Central Asia. The airport serves over 32,000 passengers daily, with passenger traffic reaching 12 million last year.
With the new funding, the airport plans to upgrade the domestic terminal and airfield infrastructure, construct aircraft de-icing facilities and expand the cargo terminal. Once these projects are implemented, connectivity between the international and domestic terminals will improve, baggage handling will accelerate and apron operations will be optimized.
«We have consistently supported the development of Almaty Airport and are pleased to continue this work as part of the new Bank of America syndicate. Our extensive experience in syndicated financing enables us to work effectively with international and local financial institutions,» EDB Management Board Chairman Nikolai Podguzov said.
He also welcomed the participation of Merrill Lynch International, Société Générale, the Turkic Investment Fund and Kazakh banks in the syndicate.
«The broader group of participating lenders underscores confidence in Kazakhstan’s infrastructure assets and creates additional opportunities to attract international capital to major projects in the country,» Podguzov emphasized.
In 2021, a group of international financial institutions, including the EDB, DEG, the EBRD and the IFC, financed the expansion and modernization of the airport. The project involved the construction of a new international terminal, which opened in 2024. As a result, the annual airport’s capacity increased from 3 million to 14 million passengers.
