Fuel and Transit
Revival of the Silk Road
In southern Kazakhstan, where ancient caravan routes once passed, stands a city long regarded as the heart of the Turkic world. Turkestan is a place people came to for wisdom, strength, and blessing. Today, it is experiencing a “second birth”, largely thanks to the emergence of a modern airport that has connected it with the world and is developing it as a transit hub between Asia and Europe.
From the Ground Up to a Regional Growth Driver
Turkestan Airport is a unique project for Kazakhstan. It is the first airport built from scratch during the country's years of independence, and it was commissioned in 2020. The new airport received its first flight in December 2022, and last year it already handled 302 thousand passengers. For a young air hub, this is an indicator of an established base for further growth.
The airport's planned throughput capacity is up to 450 passengers per hour. Its infrastructure includes terminals for domestic and international flights, as well as a cargo component. On average, about 5 flights per day depart from the airport. The route network is broad: scheduled flights connect Turkestan with the country's capital, Astana, as well as with Almaty, Aktobe, Oral, and Kostanay. This year, the geography will expand with Aktau. The international route to Istanbul effectively opened the region to the world.
But the main point is not even passenger traffic.
Betting on Cargo: The Silk Road Returns
While passenger traffic is developing steadily, cargo traffic is showing explosive growth. In just one year, cargo volumes increased fivefold, reaching 2.5 thous. tons. These were mainly transit cargoes from China to European countries and Georgia. This growth was no accident.
Turkestan Airport is located on a natural global logistics route between Southeast Asia and Europe. In essence, it is a modern air version of the ancient Silk Road. Aircraft operating along this route require technical stops for refuelling, servicing, and crew changes.
This is where Turkestan has several important advantages. These include not only favourable geography, but also available slots, unlike existing large regional air hubs, and competitive fuel costs.
It is precisely this combination of factors that creates a new type of competitiveness, not through scale, but through flexibility.
Why the Airport Does Not Trade Fuel
As with Aktobe Airport, which we covered at the end of last year, Turkestan has deliberately decided not to develop its own fuel business. "We perform only a small share of the fuelling. We do this competitively alongside fuel operators. But the bulk of fuelling is performed by the fuel operators themselves," says Saken Mamyrbekov, Chairman of the Management Board of International Airport Turkistan JSC. In his view, this approach creates competition and enables airlines to keep prices attractive. The logic is simple: the airport should earn from its core business, serving passengers and cargo, not from fuel trading.
This model is already producing results. By the end of last year, the airport became profitable, with revenues increasing 2.5-fold. The funds received are being directed toward infrastructure development and renewal of special-purpose equipment.
The Key Link is Fuel Infrastructure
For all its advantages, Turkestan has one critical constraint: it has no fuel depot of its own. Today, fuel is delivered through a complex logistics chain, by road either from the Shymkent Refinery or from a fuel depot in Taraz. Transport costs increase the price, while the lack of long-term storage capacity in Turkestan prevents the formation of a strategic reserve. This situation is expected to change through an investment project being implemented on the government’s instruction by KazMunayGas’s subsidiary, KazMunayGas-Aero LLP (KMG-Aero).
“We have been working with Turkestan Airport since 2024,” says Ildar Shamsutdinov, General Director of KMG-Aero. “We started with aviation fuel supplies and into-wing fuelling. We fuel foreign airlines, as well as Qazaq Air. As part of our cooperation, we began discussing the implementation of an investment project with the akimat and the airport’s management. This year, the akimat allocated us a land plot near the airport, where we will build our own fuel depot for storage of aviation fuel and petroleum products, designed to store 19 thousand cubic meters of petroleum products.”
The depot will mainly store aviation fuel. Importantly, the tanks will be built from the outset for Jet A-1 jet fuel, which is in demand among foreign carriers. In addition, the fuel depot will have tanks for storing gasoline and diesel fuel. The project will require up to 7 bln tenge in investment, with construction scheduled for completion at the end of next year.
A dedicated fuel depot will reduce logistics costs, stabilize supplies, and make it possible to compete on price with neighbouring hubs. Ultimately, this will increase the attractiveness of the air hub for transit airlines. In effect, this is about creating the “circulatory system” of the future air hub.
The fuel and lubricants storage facility in Turkestan, with a storage capacity of 19,000 m³, will include:
12,000 m³ tank for aviation fuel: TS-1 / RT / Jet A-1;
3,000 m³ tank for gasoline;
4,000 m³ tank for summer and winter diesel fuel;
Dispatch centre for monitoring petroleum product levels in the tanks and controlling petroleum product transfer operations;
Laboratory for fuel quality control;
Pipeline and filtration system;
Two-sided railway loading and unloading rack on the access track;
Road tanker unloading rack.
Competition for the Sky
Airports in southern Kazakhstan operate in a highly competitive environment. Nearby are major aviation hubs in Uzbekistan and China, which are also competing for transit flows. In this competition, the decisive factors are not only geography but also economics, with fuel costs and availability as key factors. The ability to offer airlines stable and competitive terms is the main argument in the fight for traffic.
At the same time, it is important that KMG-Aero does not claim the role of a monopolist. The market in Turkestan remains competitive: several fuel operators are already active here, and the arrival of new players only strengthens this competition.
From Regional Airport to Air Hub
The development of Turkestan Airport fully aligns with Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's strategy to create several modern air hubs in the country. An entire ecosystem is taking shape here:
- passenger infrastructure;
- cargo logistics;
- fuel storage facilities;
- airline attraction.
Growth is occurring across several areas at once: passenger, cargo, and transit. "At present, we are focusing on developing Turkestan Airport as a regional cargo air hub. We have chosen a direction for the airport's development, focusing on cargo dispatch, e-commerce, and technical stops. In this area, we are now attracting new airlines that will be serviced here, while also developing cargo infrastructure in the airport zone and purchasing special-purpose equipment," says Saken Mamyrbekov, Chairman of the Management Board of International Airport Turkistan JSC.
Airport development is not only about aviation. It also means new jobs for residents of the region, tax revenues for the state budget, and growth in tourism and pilgrimage.
Thus, Turkestan today not only remains a spiritual centre, but is also becoming a major logistics hub integrated into global supply chains. This is the result of consistent joint work, coordinated and supported by the government, to implement the Head of State's instructions to develop the country's transport and logistics potential, increase the competitiveness of domestic airports, and create favourable conditions for attracting foreign airlines.
The key success factor in this work is constructive cooperation among all participants: the airport, fuel operators, the investor, and the state. Each of them performs its own function, but together they deliver a single result: the airport attracts traffic, fuel companies provide competitive conditions, the investor creates infrastructure, and the state sets the strategy. It is precisely this synergy that is turning what is still a relatively small regional airport into a national-scale growth point.
At the Beginning of the Journey
“The airports of our country’s southern hubs are located along cargo traffic routes from China and from Southeast Asia to Europe. In practice, aircraft depart from China and fly over Almaty, Taraz, Shymkent, and Turkestan. It is very convenient for them to land here for technical stops and refuelling. Looking ahead, if Turkestan develops as a cargo hub, it will have very strong logistics. That is why we see strong potential specifically for developing the cargo segment at Turkestan Airport,” emphasizes Ildar Shamsutdinov, General Director of KazMunayGas-Aero LLP.
Today, Turkestan is only at the beginning of its journey: five flights per day, several hundred thousand passengers, and the first thousands of tons of cargo. But it is already clear that, with proper implementation of infrastructure projects and preservation of the competitive model, the market can grow many times over. In a few years, the picture here will be completely different: intensive traffic, developed logistics, and a full-fledged cargo hub.
Because in the modern economy, transit really is the new oil.