Karaganda airport will become a multimodal air hub: development prospects

It is planned to create a multimodal air hub CargoHUBKaraganda on the basis of the Sary-Arka airport in Karaganda. This project will be an important step in strengthening international logistics, aimed at significantly increasing cargo transportation.

It is expected that the volume of cargo handled will increase from 15,000 tons to 200,000 tons per year, and by 2030 about 2,000 new jobs will be created, which will have a positive impact on tax revenues to the regional budget.

Karaganda Airport strives to take a key position in international logistics, accepting daily flights with goods such as flowers, equipment and heavy goods, which are then distributed throughout Kazakhstan and the CIS countries.

One of the first achievements of the project was the opening of direct cargo flights from Ecuador – this is an important incentive for the development of international trade.

In the coming years, it is planned to increase the number of technical landings of cargo aircraft to 100 flights per week, which will significantly expand the logistics capabilities of the airport and strengthen its status as an important transport hub.

— Sary-Arka Airport is one of the largest in Kazakhstan and serves all types of aircraft. Now we serve about 320 thousand passengers annually, mainly on domestic flights, as well as international routes to Antalya and Moscow. We plan to increase the geography of passenger flights and passenger traffic to one million people. We are developing technical landings for cargo planes, which attracts additional operators: our planes refuel, change crews and undergo minor maintenance. We have been working in the field of cargo transportation for more than 10 years and occupy the second place in terms of cargo handling in Kazakhstan," comments Ruslan Gabbasov, Chairman of the Board of Sary-Arka Airport.

Today, the airport serves commercial flights from Ecuador, the Netherlands, Belgium and Southeast Asia with a wide range of goods, including electronics, cars and food.

About five tons of fresh products from Europe and Israel are processed every week, including vegetables and berries.

The advantage of the airport for cargo carriers lies in high speed, optimal cost of processing and proper level of service.

According to Ruslan Gabbasov, the advantageous geographical location of the airport is one of its key advantages.

– Flights from Southeast Asia to Europe fly through Karaganda, which turns us into a logistics hub. In recent years, we have been actively improving the infrastructure – repairing the runway and parking areas for passenger aircraft, purchasing modern equipment and attracting qualified personnel to increase the speed of cargo handling, - said the chairman of the airport Board.

Investments in the development of airport infrastructure also create opportunities for economic growth in the region. The expansion of cargo transportation will contribute to the development of related industries such as warehousing, trucking, hospitality and improving the quality of passenger service.

Ruslan Gabbasov is confident that the development of the airport will become a driver of the region's growth.

– An increase in the number of cargo flights will lead to an increase in road transportation, which will create interest for investors in the construction of hotels for crews and in the development of trade. For example, since 2015 we have been actively engaged in flower delivery, and since then the number of flower shops in Karaganda has grown from 200 to more than 700 outlets.

Plans for further development of the airport include the repair of the runway, the reconstruction of the passenger terminal and the construction of a cargo terminal, as well as the expansion of the route network.