On October 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a presentation on the construction of Bukhara International Airport.
Large-scale work is underway to modernize airports in our country. This year, the airports of Shakhrisabz, Kokand and Zaamin were put into operation, and modernization of air harbors began in Namangan and Andijan.
Involving the private sector in airport management is also yielding results. In particular, after the transfer of Samarkand International Airport to private management and its modernization, the number of flights and passenger flow increased 5 times.
There is such potential in Bukhara as well. However, the current airport does not meet the requirements of the population and tourists. It can only serve 400 passengers per hour or 1 million passengers per year.
Outdated flight control and passenger service systems, and lounges limit the possibility of increasing the number of flights. Most tourists are forced to fly to Tashkent, Samarkand or Urgench in order to get to Bukhara. For example, 95 percent of the more than 1 million foreign tourists who visited Bukhara over a nine-month period arrived by train or car.
A hotel chain and pilgrimage tourism are developing in the region. Over the next three years, it is planned to increase the flow of tourists to Bukhara to 8 million.
In this regard, on May 31 of this year, during the President’s visit to the region, construction of a new international airport began in the Bukhara district. As part of this project, an infrastructure that meets international standards will be created on public-private partnership principles. It will be possible to serve 1,2 thousand passengers per hour. New international airlines will be attracted by improving the quality of service for passengers and aircraft.
The presentation provided information on the technical and economic aspects of the project.
The Head of State emphasized the need to double the capacity of the new airport and create the ability to receive and dispatch 8 aircraft per hour. Recommendations were given on creating conditions in the terminal, its interior and exterior appearance.