Kazakhstan Confirms Airport Management Talks with Vietnam, Denies Sale

Kazakhstan is not selling off strategic assets, Deputy Foreign Minister Alibek Bakayev clarified, addressing recent reports about foreign interest in the country’s aviation infrastructure, Orda.kz reports.

Earlier, it was reported that Vietnam’s Sovico Group had shown interest in acquiring or managing an airport in Kazakhstan.

Bakayev emphasized that the government is only considering temporarily transferring management, not ownership, of one of the country's airports.

Our goal is to attract leading companies to help us improve service quality and operational efficiency. But we are not selling any strategic facilities, he said during a Senate briefing. 

Bakayev confirmed that a foreign company could begin managing the airport in the near future.

Original Author: Artyom Volkov