The Kazakh-German joint venture Skyhansa will build an international combined cargo-passenger airport close to Kazakhstan's border with China in the Khorgos - Eastern Gate Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the government's press service reported.
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Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Skyhansa co-founder Christine Grotzbach discussed the project to build a cargo-passenger airport near the Khorgos International Center for Border Cooperation (ICBC) in the Zhetysu region.
The total investment will be approximately 250 billion tenge or $482.2 million at the current rate.
Investment agreements were signed by the Kazakh Transport Ministry and Skyhansa.
"The agreement stipulates that the investor commits to constructing the necessary aviation infrastructure, using predominantly domestic materials and services, and involving at least 90% Kazakh citizens in the project's workforce. The Kazakh side will provide the engineering and transport infrastructure and grant SEZ participant privileges," the statement says.
The project will be delivered in three stages.
The first stage to 2027 involves building a passenger terminal for up to 50 passengers per hour rising to 500 by 2032; a modern fuel storage facility for new JET A-1 aviation fuel with capacity of up to 200,000 tonnes per year, rising to 550,000 tonnes by 2032; and a cargo terminal with a parking lot and a railway siding with capacity of 50,000 tonnes per year, rising to 250,000 tonnes by 2032.
Tourism and entertainment infrastructure will also be developed within the second and third phases to 2032.
The project also envisages the creation of a multimodal cargo transportation scheme Air-Rail-Auto-Air and the establishment of new economic growth points at the junction of transport and logistics routes towards the Asia-Pacific region.
The project is being implemented with the participation of the Kazakh-German joint venture Skyhansa.
The German partner is The Hansa Consortium, specializing in aviation terminal and infrastructure development.
The Kazakh partner is the Skymax Technologies group of companies, providing comprehensive services and engineering solutions for airports in the markets of Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. ■