Kazakhstan: Two Airports May Be Transferred to Vietnamese Management

At a forum in Astana, Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Transport Maksat Kaliakparov announced plans to transfer airports to trust management and attract international investors, Orda.kz reports.

Journalists asked whether the airports would be transferred to private hands. 

No, this is trust management, not transfer into private hands. We attract companies with global experience so that they invest, develop financial and economic models and take a strategic approach to development. These companies present their plans for 5, 10, 15, 20 years, and we build our strategy on this basis. This is standardf global practice Kaliakparov answered.

The Vice Minister admitted that mistakes were made during the transfer of the Almaty airport, but they were taken into account and corrected.

There were mistakes, we acknowledge them, but they have already been corrected. With the new partner, the approach has changed, it has become more professional, added Kaliakparov.

He also spoke about cooperation with the Vietnamese Sovico Group, which plans to enter Kazakhstan after acquiring the Qazaq Air airline and more than 20 aircraft.

The company was offered to take the airports of Turkestan and Qyzylorda into trust management.

We offer them two airports - Turkestan and Qyzylorda. We are currently discussing how this will be implemented. Our main priority is safety. We have strict requirements for ICAO standards. Without compliance with them, there will be no development. Thanks to these rules, we have left the 'black list,' and they are mandatory for everyone,  he noted.

Original Author: Artem Volkov