Photo: zamin.uz
Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Transport plans to build a new airport in Tashkent Region, citing forecasts that passenger traffic through the capital will reach 15 million by 2030. The existing airport lacks the necessary capacity and, being located within the city limits, cannot be expanded. The plan was presented to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a briefing on transport projects, according to the presidential press service.
Officials said they are currently reviewing proposals from foreign companies to implement the large-scale project through a public-private partnership.
Speaking to Uzbekistan 24 television, Transport Minister Ilkhom Makhkamov said the new capital-serving airport will be located 17 kilometers from the current international airport, near the Tashkent–Samarkand highway and the route of the planned expressway linking the two cities. “In other words, the site already has transport and logistics infrastructure,” he noted.
The ministry believes the new facility must be operational by 2030. Delaying the project by a decade could cost the country $8.6 billion in GDP and undermine its ambition to become Central Asia’s aviation hub.
Javlonbek Umarhodjayev, chairman of Uzbekistan Airports, said the current Tashkent International Airport can handle up to 11 million passengers annually, with a capacity of 17 takeoffs and landings per hour and parking for up to 70 aircraft. Its central location, however, causes traffic congestion and complicates aircraft maneuvering amid dense urban development.
According to Umarhodjayev, the first phase of the new airport will serve up to 20 million passengers annually, with a capacity exceeding 40 takeoffs and landings per hour and space for 169 aircraft.
President Mirziyoyev has approved the project, instructing the government’s economic team to assess its financial aspects.
