Uzbekistan Signs Contract for New Tashkent Airport, Construction to Run Through 2030

On June 17, 2026, on the sidelines of the 5th Tashkent International Investment Forum, Uzbekistan Airports and a consortium of investors led by Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest signed a public-private partnership agreement to build and operate a new international airport in the Tashkent region. The project began with a ceremonial groundbreaking in October 2025, attended by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The June agreement is a practical next step: the project now has a signed contract, defined investor shares, and an approved construction schedule. The international consortium will handle construction and operation of the airport. Vision Invest holds 45%. Japan’s Sojitz Corporation holds 30%, and South Korea’s Incheon International Airport Corporation holds 15%. The remaining 10% belongs to state-owned Uzbekistan Airports. Under the agreement, the private partner will manage the airport for 35 years, until around 2065. The private investors are responsible for the passenger terminal and forecourt area. The state remains responsible for building and operating the airfield infrastructure, including runways and taxiways. Construction was formally authorized by Presidential Resolution No. 353, dated November 25, 2025. The new airport will be located in the Urtachirchik and Kuyichirchik districts of the Tashkent region, on a 1,310-hectare site. The first phase includes two 4-kilometer runways and a 208,000-square-meter passenger terminal. It also includes 98 aircraft parking stands, a fuel complex, and a modern air traffic control tower. Construction is scheduled from 2026 to 2030, with commissioning planned for late 2030. At full capacity, the airport will be able to handle up to 20 million passengers and process 129,000 tons of cargo per year. It will support up to 30 takeoffs and landings per hour and accommodate 62 aircraft at once. In the longer term, the terminal will be four times larger than Tashkent’s current airport and able to serve up to 46 million passengers a year. It will be supported by more than 40 jet bridges and 160 aircraft stands. The project is driven by passenger growth that the current airport can no longer accommodate. Over the past eight years, passenger traffic in Tashkent has tripled to 9 million a year and is expected to reach 24 million by 2040. The existing airport is designed for just 11 million passengers and sits within city limits, making expansion impossible. The current airport is projected to reach full capacity by 2029, after which it is expected to close once the new facility opens. The new airport will form part of a larger transport hub. The complex will connect directly to the Tashkent-Samarkand toll highway and to routes serving Andijan and Bostanliq. A dedicated high-speed rail station will be built on site, and shuttle services will link Tashkent with the new location. The first phase is estimated at $2.5 billion and is expected to attract about $3 billion in foreign direct investment. The airport has also been presented as the first in Central Asia built according to “green” construction principles. Preparatory work before the signing included environmental and social impact assessments in line with the requirements...

Kazakhstan Begins First Public-Private Partnership Sports Facility Project

Construction has begun in the Atyrau region on Kazakhstan’s first sports boarding school for athletically gifted children, to be implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the private partner will be responsible for the full project cycle from design and construction to technical maintenance of the facility for five years after its completion, which is scheduled for May 2027. The new school will feature modern academic buildings and residential facilities. The 3.2-hectare site will include an academic block for 400 students, a 300-bed dormitory, 13 gyms, a swimming pool, a cafeteria, a library, a stadium, running tracks, and basketball and volleyball courts. The project in Atyrau is intended as a pilot, with plans to replicate similar facilities in other regions of the country. The school is expected to train 400 young athletes across 13 Olympic sports. Officials say the project will create improved conditions for developing the country’s sports reserve by integrating academic education with professional training. In recent years, the development of sports in Kazakhstan has received increased state support, contributing to stronger performances by Kazakh athletes in international competitions. In the first quarter of 2026, Kazakhstani athletes won 200 medals at international events: 79 gold, 57 silver, and 64 bronze. At the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, in February, Kazakhstan won one gold medal and finished 19th in the overall medal standings. This marks the country’s best result since 1994, when it placed 12th at the Lillehammer Olympics, where skier Vladimir Smirnov won gold. In 2026, Kazakhstan’s only medal was secured by figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who became the country’s first Olympic champion in figure skating. At the Paralympic Games in Italy in March 2026, Kazakhstan placed 18th out of 55 countries in the medal standings. Yerbol Khamitov won two medals, gold in the biathlon pursuit and bronze in cross-country sprint, becoming the first Kazakhstani athlete to win two medals at a Winter Paralympics.