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Uzbekistan Airports has announced that a consortium of Turkey’s Limak İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. and Qatar’s Hamad Bin Khalid Contracting Company W.L.L. has won the international tender to build and manage the new international airport at Bukhara under a public-private partnership framework.
The tender, launched in March under a Build-Transfer-Operate model, proceeded in two stages — a request for qualifications followed by a request for proposals. The project is being implemented in accordance with a presidential decree signed on 30 August 2024, with Uzbekistan Airports working alongside the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Under the terms of the agreement, the private consortium will be responsible for constructing and operating a new passenger terminal with a throughput capacity of 1,200 passengers per hour, along with a forecourt, parking facilities and associated infrastructure. The state will retain ownership and management of the airfield complex itself — the runway and apron — while the private partner handles the terminal side.
The next formal step is the signing of a PPP agreement with a total duration of 23 years, which includes a construction period of up to three years.
Who won and why
Uzbekistan Airports noted that both companies in the winning consortium bring substantial airport experience. Limak currently manages Pristina International Airport in Kosovo and Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, Senegal. The Turkish firm also participated in the construction and management of Istanbul Airport and is presently building a new terminal at Kuwait International Airport, following earlier work at Cairo International Airport.
HBK Contracting, the Qatari partner, served as the main contractor for Lusail Stadium, which hosted the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The project structure keeps the state in control of aerodrome operations while transferring the commercial and passenger-facing elements of the new facility to private hands — an arrangement that mirrors PPP models used at several of the airports in Limak’s existing portfolio.