Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 18 March 2022, a grand opening of the new terminal complex of the Samarkand International Airport took place. The first serviced flight in the new terminal was Uzbekistan Airways flight HY-045, on board of which representatives of ministries, departments and the media arrived to participate in the opening ceremony.

The project for the construction of a new terminal worth more than US$80 million was implemented as part of the first public-private partnership agreement in the history of aviation in Uzbekistan between the FE LLC Air Maracanda and the state partner JSC Uzbekistan Airports. The construction work was carried out by Enter Engineering based on the architectural solution of the Turkish design and engineering company Kiklop.

"Samarkand is the pearl of Uzbekistan, a museum city with a centuries-old history and rich culture. It attracts tourists from around the world as a powerful magnet. I am very glad that now the guests of the city and the country will be met by a new airport with the best airport service technologies. New the airfield complex built by JSC "Uzbekistan Airports" was put into operation in December. A new runway 3,105 meters long and 60 meters wide, new taxiways and an apron for 24 parking lots for aircraft were built, energy-saving lighting equipment was installed and landing system corresponding to the second category of ICAO. Well, today a new international passenger terminal built by our private partner Air Maracanda is opening. For Uzbeks on the eve of the Navruz holiday, this is a worthy gift!" noted the chairman of the board of Uzbekistan Airports Rano Juraeva.

The new airport complex was built according to international standards, taking into account the requirements for servicing passengers with limited mobility. The terminal includes 29 check-in counters, 8 boarding gates, 4 airstairs, 10 passport control booths and 6 E-gates for departing passengers, as well as 15 passport control booths for arriving passengers.

The new terminal allows to increase the number of scheduled flights from 40 to 120 flights per week, and the modernization of the apron has increased the number of aircraft parking spaces to 24. The airport’s route network development plan aims to increase the number of destinations over 30 by 2030. For comparison, in 2019, flights were operated from Samarkand Airport to 5 destinations. An independent study by the research firm Lufthansa Consulting predicts the possibility of an increase in annual passenger traffic from 480,000 to two million people.