Four airport projects in Uzbekistan will be implemented on the basis of PPP
Four airport projects involving the private sector are being developed in Uzbekistan, the Minister of Transport announced. These include a new airport in Tashkent, the airports of Urgench and Bukhara, as well as the transfer of management of complexes in Andijan and Namangan.
In Uzbekistan, four airport projects are being implemented on the basis of public-private partnership. Minister of Transport Ilkhom Makhkamov announced this in an interview with the "Uzbekistan 24" TV channel following a presentation to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
The head of the Ministry of Transport named the construction of the new Tashkent international airport as one of the largest projects. According to him, practical work has already started.
"The necessary agreements have been signed with the private partner, and construction has begun on site. The President gave instructions regarding the deadlines and determined that subsequent meetings on the project will be held directly on site," he said.
The construction of a new international airport in Bukhara was considered separately. The President ordered to accelerate the work, while paying special attention to quality and compliance with modern requirements.
As Makhkamov noted, four airport projects involving the private sector are currently being developed overall.
"In addition to Tashkent, we are talking about the Urgench International Airport, a project implemented jointly with the Korean company Incheon. Tender procedures are currently underway for Bukhara. In addition, work is being carried out to transfer the management of the Andijan and Namangan airports," said the Minister of Transport.
He also announced the preparation of a long-term aviation development strategy.
"Now the task has been set to develop an industry strategy for the next 10 years. A Spanish company has been involved for this purpose, and it is planned to determine the main parameters of the strategy by the end of this year," he reported.
In addition, the task has been set to develop airlines and conduct an international audit next year.
As a reminder, in June, Uzbekistan Airports and Saudi Arabia's Vision International Investment signed a PPP agreement for the construction and operation of the "New Tashkent" airport. The project is designed for 2026–2030 and involves about 2.5 billion dollars of investment in the first phase. The airport will be located on 1,310 hectares in the Urtachirchik and Kuyichirchik districts of the Tashkent region, with an initial capacity of 20 million passengers per year and the possibility of expansion to 46 million. The airport will be handed over to the private partner for management for 35 years.
The new Bukhara international airport is being built in the Kumsulton massif of the Bukhara district. In June, the first stage of the international tender to select a private partner for the construction and management of the passenger terminal was completed: out of 51 interested companies, 6 advanced to the next stage. The project provides for a terminal with an area of 48.5 thousand square meters with a capacity of 1,200 passengers per hour on international flights and 400 on domestic flights. The airfield infrastructure will remain under state management.
Private partnership projects for regional airports have been discussed since at least 2024. At that time, the authorities announced plans to involve the private sector in the management and modernization of the airports of Namangan, Andijan, Bukhara, and Urgench. The Namangan airport is being modernized on a PPP basis with the company Namangan Air Solution, and the involvement of a private operator is being worked out for the Andijan airport.