Results of the Year
How Aktobe Airport Uses Synergy to Transform into a Modern Air Hub
On a frosty December morning, a Boeing of SCAT Airlines is on final approach to Aktobe Airport. All ground services are standing by, and a fuel truck with the KMG-Aero logo, visible from afar, moves to its starting position. While passengers are leaving the landed aircraft, the pilot in the cockpit calculates the refuelling requirement. At last, the go-ahead for refuelling is given, the vehicle pulls up to the wing, and in less than half an hour, the aircraft is ready to take on new passengers and continue its route.
From multi-million losses to multi-million profit
Aktobe International Airport is named after the legendary Kazakh sniper Aliya Moldagulova and handles about two dozen flights daily (scheduled, transit, charter, and cargo). Several companies perform aircraft refuelling; KazMunayGaz-Aero LLP (KMG-Aero) is one of them, operating in a competitive environment. Airlines have a choice on price, quality, and service. And increasingly, that choice is tilting toward the national company KazMunayGaz’s subsidiary.
“Why doesn’t the airport run the fuel business itself, since it is a high-margin area?” I ask Dastan Maliyev, chairman of the board of Aliya Moldagulova International Airport.
“For us, this is a non-core business,” replies Mr Maliyev. “We should be focused on improving service and the quality of services provided to airlines and passengers, not trading jet fuel. Building a new fuel depot and purchasing fuel trucks requires a major investment that we cannot afford.”
Regional airports, which in Soviet times were part of the unified Aeroflot system, after gaining independence went their own ways: some were privatized, while local authorities took others over. Expensive jet fuel, a shrinking route network, and the termination of subsidies for regional flights put most of them in a difficult financial position. For example, in 2020, the airport—owned by the Aktobe Region Department of Finance—posted a loss of 800 million tenge. At that time, it was a typical “planned-loss” enterprise.
“And this year we plan a profit of about 300 million tenge,” says Dastan Maliyev. “For the first time in our history, we handled our millionth passenger this year. And note, this is without any sale of jet fuel, solely from airport service revenue. At the same time, we also earn from refuelling by charging royalties from the companies that provide such services. Moreover, a little over two years ago, when we outsourced refuelling services, in the first year, we did not charge the companies any fees, inviting them: come, develop competition — the more suppliers, the cheaper the fuel for carriers. In the second year, we began charging royalties. Our approach is this: the more companies competing with each other, the smaller the royalty for them; the rate, by the way, is the same for all. So, there can be no talk of a monopoly by any single operator. This policy pays off: when some other airports face a jet-fuel shortage, in Aktobe, fuel is always available — from different suppliers and at different prices.”
Only now has the government decided to relieve airports of non-core functions, including trading jet fuel. At Aktobe Airport, this was implemented several years ago, and they did not go bankrupt. Similarly, in Turkestan, the airport also operates profitably despite not engaging in the fuel business. The director of Aktobe Airport says, “We are doing fine; we raise wages when possible. We invest around 300–400 million tenge in the runway annually and renew special equipment.” And he stresses: “Cooperation with KMG-Aero is also beneficial for us because, like us, they are concurrently involved in attracting flights to our airport. They invest here and need to earn for payback, so they also begin to attract new carriers.”
KMG-Aero: a strategic partner
KMG-Aero is investing in Aktobe Airport for the long term, viewing it as a strategic partner. The first modern refuelling truck is only the beginning. On 22 December this year, a second, even more advanced unit manufactured to a special order arrived in Aktobe. A third is planned.
Even now, airlines that purchase fuel at the airport from another supplier, which, this month, happened to be about 10 dollars cheaper, still prefer to order refuelling through KMG-Aero. The reason is that KMG-Aero’s vehicles use more modern filters that ensure fuel quality, along with certified calibration equipment.
KMG-Aero is beginning construction at the airport of a storage base and a fuel storage and refuelling complex. Preparation of the feasibility study is at the final stage, and the investment estimate is about 5 bln tenge. A site has already been allocated, and a topographic survey has been carried out, with engineering and geological investigations completed. Their purpose is to study soil characteristics and groundwater level in detail to ensure maximum safety and durability of the future industrial assets to be built on the site.
In just a couple of years, a new fuel storage and refuelling complex will be commissioned here. Its process configuration includes an apron day-storage tank farm with a capacity of 600 cubic meters. This facility will enable prompt aircraft refuelling with both grades common in CIS countries, TS-1 and RT, and the internationally standardized Jet A-1 fuel preferred by foreign carriers. The day-storage tank farm will be a functional addition to the main investment-project facility, the tank farm of the fuel storage and refuelling complex with storage capacity of more than 20,200 cubic meters of fuel, as well as a modern rail loading and unloading rack and a digital dispatch center.
This tank farm will store not only aviation fuel but also other petroleum products that KMG-Aero supplies to the army, law-enforcement agencies, and the Ministry for Emergency Situations while performing the functions of the Single Operator: summer diesel fuel, winter diesel fuel, and gasoline.
The fuel storage and refuelling complex will also allow storage and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which is planned to be produced at a plant in Kostanay Region. The use of Jet A-1 and SAF will help the country meet its carbon-neutrality goals and refuel transit flights to and from the European Union, whose mandates already require the use of SAF.
From a regional airport to an air hub
Thus, Aktobe Airport is steadily delivering on the task set by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev at the expanded government meeting in late January 2025: to establish several large, modern air hubs in the country. To achieve this, “a coherent ecosystem must be created, including cargo and passenger terminals, logistics centers, and modern services,” the head of state noted.
Alongside KMG-Aero, which is investing in the modernization of the aircraft fueling system, the Turkish company S Sistem Lojistik has begun, at its own expense, construction at the airport of a new temporary storage warehouse for customs-controlled cargo. This is not just a financial investor but a major sector player that operates more than a dozen and a half such facilities in Turkey and maintains partnerships with many Turkish and European cargo airlines. In other words, they are entering Aktobe Airport not only with capital but also with future clients, contracts, and volumes of transport and warehousing.
The new temporary storage warehouse will be authorized to handle all categories of cargo, including dangerous goods and explosives, making it unique in the region and providing an additional competitive advantage. There is no doubt its services will be in demand among oil and gas companies operating not only in Aktobe but also in Atyrau and Mangystau.
A significant competitive advantage of the Aktobe aviation node in its transformation into a powerful hub is its strategic location. Located in the industrially developed western region of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the airport is close to the Russian cities of Orsk and Orenburg. This enables the hub to process inbound import flows for Russian consumers efficiently and provide Russian producers with a reliable export route to international markets. This summer, citizens of the Russian Federation made up a substantial share of passengers departing from and arriving in Aktobe. For residents of Orsk, about 160 kilometres away, or Orenburg, about 270 kilometres away, summer travel proved more convenient from Aktobe than from Moscow, which is 1,200 kilometres distant. The airport even provided a full-service package, opening a currency exchange desk in the passenger terminal specifically for these travellers.
“In three to four years, you will see the results these cooperation projects deliver, with KMG Aero and with our Turkish partner on the new temporary storage warehouse. There will be strong synergy, they will complement each other and jointly support the development of our airport,” says Dastan Maliyev, Chair of the Management Board of Aliya Moldagulova International Airport, in closing. This is equally positive for the people of Aktobe, as such development means new jobs, additional tax revenue for the local budget, and a better quality of life in the region.
Growth in fuel uplift volumes and dividends
KMG-Aero was established in 2014 as a subsidiary of KazMunayGas to operate on the fuel market. At the same time, it was assigned the functions of the Unified Operator for supplying gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, and jet fuel to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Border Service of the National Security Committee, the National Guard, the authorized body in the field of civil protection, and the authorized body responsible for the state material reserve.
In its early years, the company focused on performing the Unified Operator functions; only from 2022, after a management change, did it begin rapidly developing the commercial side of its business. In 2023, the company’s “into-wing” aircraft fueling totalled about 7.3 thousand tons of jet fuel; from January to November 2025 (11 months), this figure increased by more than seven times to over 50,000 tons. Today, KMG-Aero holds a 16% market share. Importantly, it pays dividends to its sole shareholder, the national company KazMunayGas; the amount is expected to reach 5.5 bln tenge this year.
The company has into-wing fueling contracts with numerous domestic and international airlines, including airBaltic, Georgian Airlines, Red Sea Airlines, Silkway West Airlines, Fly Meta Group, and others.
“Our goal is to transform into an active player in the fuel market by providing airlines with top-tier services. In doing so, we contribute to the Head of State’s efforts to create several key aviation hubs in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This will unlock the country’s transit potential and diversify the economy, create new jobs, and increase budget revenues in Kazakhstan,” said Ildar Shamsutdinov, General Director of KMG-Aero.