Kyrgyzstan plans to expand its air cargo capacity with a new international airport in the Jalal-Abad region and a cargo terminal near Bishkek. The new airport is expected to open in fall 2027 near the route of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway. The cargo terminal would handle goods arriving by road from China for onward flights to Europe and the Middle East.
Jalal-Abad International Airport is under construction in the Bagysh area of Suzak District, near the city of Manas, formerly Jalal-Abad. On November 11, Manasbek Samidinov, chairman of the management board of Airports of Kyrgyzstan, put the preliminary construction cost at $60 million. The contractor is Kyrgyzstroyservis, a state enterprise under the Presidential Property Management Department.
The project includes a 3,600-meter runway, two taxiways, an apron with room for four aircraft, and a 12,000-square-meter passenger terminal. The airport is designed to handle aircraft in the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families, including freighter versions. Domestic passenger flights are planned initially. The operator then intends to hold talks with foreign airlines about international routes.
Samidinov said the railway could help the airport develop as a cargo hub. The line, designed to carry up to 15 million metric tons of freight a year, will connect Kashgar in China with Andijan in Uzbekistan. Construction formally began in December 2024, and the Kyrgyz section is estimated to cost $4.7 billion. At the planned Makmal transshipment hub, containers would be transferred between trains that run on tracks of different widths.
At Manas International Airport near Bishkek, the operator plans to use its own funds to build a 40,000-square-meter cargo terminal. The facility would include bonded warehouses, where goods can be stored before customs duties are paid, and specialized storage for pharmaceuticals, perishable foods, plants, and hazardous cargo. Samidinov said Chinese partners and international logistics operators had expressed interest in the project.
Kyrgyzstan will have to compete for this traffic with airports in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan that already have cargo facilities. Air freight costs considerably more than rail or road transport, so the most likely customers are shippers of time-sensitive or high-value goods and products that require specialized storage.
