A consortium of Turkish company Limak İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Qatari company Hamad Bin Khalid Contracting Company W.L.L. (HBK Contracting) has won an international tender to build and operate the new “New Bukhara” international airport under a public-private partnership (PPP), Uzbekistan Airports said.
The tender, announced on March 12, 2026, ran in two stages: prequalification (RFQ) and a request for proposals (RFP). Six international companies advanced after the first stage, and an interagency tender commission picked the winner.
Under the Build-Transfer-Operate model, the private partner will build and manage a passenger terminal with a capacity of 1,200 passengers an hour, a forecourt, parking and related infrastructure. The state will build and operate the airfield complex, including the runway and apron.
A 23-year PPP agreement, including up to three years of construction, is to be signed next. The financial terms of the bid, the investment volume and the revenue-sharing arrangements have not been disclosed.
“Bukhara is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia, with a history of more than 2,000 years, and its historic center was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993. The new airport is intended to handle a growing flow of visitors and expand the province’s air links with foreign countries,” Uzbekistan Airports said.
The company said both winners have experience in major international infrastructure projects. Limak operates airports in Pristina, Kosovo, and Dakar, Senegal, and is building a new terminal at Kuwait’s international airport. HBK Contracting was the main contractor for Lusail Stadium, which hosted the 2022 World Cup final.
The project was presented to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in May 2024 at an initial cost of $226 million. On Nov 3, he was told the cost had risen to $300 million, and the next day he ordered the airport and its access road to be completed by Independence Day on Sept 1, 2027.
The project had earlier been linked to businessman Bakhtiyor Fazylov’s group of companies. A Cabinet of Ministers resolution of Jan 22, 2026, put the group’s wage arrears to 38,700 employees at $131 million.
