INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A Russian airports operator has purchased a stake in running an airport in northwestern Kazakhstan near to the Russo-Kazakh border.With its
first foreign acquisition, Russias Airports of Regions business is intending to establish the Oral airport as a local center, more than
likely to serve tourists impacted by the shortage of flights out of Russia owing to its war in Ukraine.The firm, owned by approved Russian
billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, did not define the price or size of the stake when it announced the acquisition on Feb
However media in Kazakhstan reported that Kazakh investors will hold a controlling stake of 51% in the consortium, called Oral Airport
Holding, while the Russian company holds 49%
The Kazakh partners are business owner Dauletkhan Kilybayev and a business called Uralsk Management, which is owned by Sergei Artyugin
He likewise heads the Oral Airport Holding consortium, which will now handle the airport for 3 years.Manshuk Mametova Airport will remain
the property of the state, which took it over from a company connected with Bek Air after that carrier was stripped of its license to
operate following a deadly crash in 2019
The Russian business used few specifics on the acquisition
It did state it intends to turn the airport, which presently serves around 300,000 passengers every year, into a local air travel center
The practical place of the airport in northwestern Kazakhstan will make it possible to establish transit traffic and develop a regional
center on its basis, described the company, which runs airports in cities around Russia including Yekaterinburg, Samara, Saratov, Orenburg,
Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod and Tobolsk.Oral (in some cases called Uralsk) is around 25 miles from the border with Russia and has direct
bus links to Samara, about 4 hours drive north.That would make it a relatively hassle-free hub for travelers from cities in southern Russia
and Siberia, currently restricted by an absence of flights because of the war in Ukraine.Orals airport currently serves just Kazakh airlines
on generally domestic routes, with global flights to just 2 locations: Phuket in Thailand and Frankfurt in Germany.The airport has a
recently finished new terminal
The investors now prepare to sink cash into updating security devices and improving guest and freight infrastructure.The participation of a
sanctioned Russian oligarch in the consortium may be bad optics for Astana, which has repeatedly mentioned that it will never allow
Kazakhstan to become a backdoor route for sanctions-dodging by its next-door neighbor and partner Russia.But Kazakhstans federal government
is eager to lure financiers to establish airport facilities to meet increasing demand.The federal government has actually tapped a
foundation run by Kazakh oligarch Bulat Utemuratov to money the construction of a brand-new airport terminal in the city of Kyzylorda in
southern Kazakhstan, at an expense of $25 million
Building and construction is due to begin this month, and the terminal will end up being the home of the state after it opens next year.This
post was originally released by Eurasianet.org.
