President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan has officially launched the construction of a new airport in Tashkent. When completed, the airport will be Central Asia’s largest.
The capital’s current airport, Tashkent International, handles 9 million passengers per year. However, due to its limited footprint, the site is unable to accommodate the 24 million travellers per year expected by 2040.
The new airport will be developed over four phases. An international project, construction will be led by Vision Invest (Saudi Arabia), Sojitz (Japan), and Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC, South Korea). The first phase, costing US$2.5 billion, will construct a terminal capable of handling 20 million passengers and 129,000 tonnes of cargo annually, with 30 aircraft landing every hour.
Designed in line with ICAO standards, the airport will be safe, tech-forward, and sustainable. A high-speed rail station, shuttle service, and highway connections will ensure passengers’ onward journeys are seamless. Once development ends, the airport is expected to create thousands of jobs and contribute US$27 billion to the economy.
Uzbekistan’s aviation development strategy
IIAC has also signed an agreement to advise on the redevelopment of Urgench International Airport in the west of Uzbekistan. IIAC CEO Lee Hak-jae said:
Uzbekistan holds strong potential to emerge as a transportation hub in Central Asia. We aim to establish the second and third Incheon Airports in the region, building a crucial bridgehead for our overseas business expansion.
The new Tashkent airport project represents one significant development in Uzbekistan’s efforts to modernise its aviation infrastructure. Seven international airports are currently being reconstructed, with the building of new facilities bringing the country’s total number of airports to 18.
Growth in tourism and the economy has contributed to the rapid rise of Uzbekistan’s aviation industry. The country is now serviced by 51 foreign airlines, and the size of the national fleet has quadrupled. Over the next five years, Uzbekistan plans to increase its flight routes to 230 and raise the number of flights to 200,000 per year.
President Mirziyoyev commented:
Ultimately, our goal is to turn Uzbekistan into a major aviation hub connecting East and West, North and South.
In the future, could Uzbekistan become as popular an aviation hub as the UAE, Turkey, or Singapore?
Join us at Aviation Festival Asia to discuss the future of airports in APAC.
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