The CEO of Uzbekistan Airports Rano Juraeva pointed to the need to build common airport for Andijan, Namangan and Ferghana provinces on Monday.
According to her, two scenarios for the development of airports in the Fergana Valley were presented to the president as part of the Uzbekistan airports development strategy until 2035.
“The first development scenario is if we reconstruct and build new airports in the same places where they are now. We made a SWOT analysis: pros and cons, risks and benefits. And in terms of investment, we had many shortcomings,” she said.
Rano Juraeva noted that the airports of all three provinces are located within the city, have landing approaches from one side only, and a limited bandwidth of six aircraft per hour.
“And even if we build new lanes, they retain their main bottleneck limitations, which are beyond our control. If we now spend a lot of money on reconstruction or new construction on the same site, then, given that we are doing this not for one, not for two years, but for 20-30 years ahead, then perhaps this will hinder the development of the province in this period of time. And, perhaps, it is better to build in another place,” Rano Juraeva highlighted.
Under the second scenario, it is proposed to build a single airport for the whole Ferghana Valley. According to her, private investors and operators in concession agreements demand that there are no other airports in the 300-kilometer zone.
“But here it turns out that we have three airports in the 100-kilometer zone: all international and all barely loaded. Therefore, for all these three provinces, it would be more efficient to have one modern airport that is built from scratch in another place,” she said.
She noted that the new airport provides for the use of new technologies, high-speed taxiways, main tracks, so that 40 aircraft per hour can be serviced. In addition, the new airport will have enough land to expand the infrastructure.
“Now we need a terminal, for example, for 1,200 people, and in 10 years it will be needed for 2,400 people. There is enough land to build and complete these terminals. Now there is no such possibility anywhere. If we are talking about a cargo terminal, then a good logistics center suggests itself in the Fergana Valley specifically for agricultural products, their storage, processing, packaging, and dispatch,” she said.
Rano Juraeva believes that "when there is little money, it is better to concentrate capital, and when there is a lot of money, three airports could be built."
