Samarkand International Airport in Uzbekistan has opened its modernized US$80m terminal.
The terminal features increased access for passengers with limited mobility, 29 check-in desks, eight boarding gates, four airstairs, 10 passport control booths, six e-gates for departing passengers, and 15 passport control booths for arriving passengers.
The facility has been designed to triple the airport’s passenger capacity. Upon completion, the number of regular flights is projected to increase from 40 to 120 per week. These additional flights will make use of the 24 new aircraft parking spaces available at the terminal.
To complete the project, the airport’s operator, Air Marakanda, contracted engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company Enter Engineering based on an architectural design by the Turkish design and engineering company, Kiklop Construction.
Hilmi Yilmaz, deputy general director of operations at Air Marakanda, said, “On behalf of the entire staff of Air Marakanda, I thank our government and all partners, without whom the implementation of such a large-scale project would have been impossible. I am certain Samarkand International Airport, as one of the region’s most important infrastructure facilities, will stimulate economic growth and business development in the adjacent areas, creating jobs for the local population and benefiting society as a whole. An airport is the first thing you see when you arrive in a country and the last thing you see when you leave. Samarkand International Airport will become a ‘visiting card’ of Uzbekistan.”