KIND signs shareholder agreement for public-private partnership construction and operation project
Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) announced Wednesday that it has signed a shareholder agreement with consortium members for the Uzbekistan Tashkent New Airport Construction and Operation public-private partnership project, valued at approximately $4.7 billion in total, with the first phase estimated at around $2.9 billion.
The agreement is a key step toward securing stable financing and timely ground-breaking, setting out investment obligations among project sponsors and governing the operations of the special-purpose vehicle to be established. The project has now entered full operational footing.
The KIND-led consortium concluded a concession agreement on July 29, securing from Uzbekistan Airports — the project's contracting authority — a 35-year concession along with the right to enter into an engineering, procurement and construction contract.
KIND then teamed up with Incheon International Airport Corporation to form "Team Korea," establishing a joint venture, Korea Tashkent Airport Co., on Aug. 20. KIND and Incheon International Airport Corporation each hold a 7.5 percent stake as the Korean investors within the global consortium. Incheon International Airport Corporation is set to lead overseas contracts in airport operations consulting and operations and maintenance services.
With the equity investment framework now in place under the shareholder agreement, KIND said it will move swiftly on subsequent steps toward financial close and ground-breaking. Under the plan, a project financing agreement will be concluded with a lender group — including the Export-Import Bank of Korea and multilateral development banks — by early 2027. Construction is then expected to take four years, with the airport set to open in early 2031.
The Uzbekistan government is pursuing the construction and operation of the new airport — which would be the largest in Central Asia — to replace the existing Tashkent airport, which has reached capacity amid rising passenger numbers. The new facility is designed to handle up to 54 million passengers a year.
"Following the concession and EPC contract signings in July, key milestones have been proceeding smoothly, including the establishment of a domestic joint venture with Incheon International Airport Corporation and the signing of the shareholder agreement for the project company," KIND President Kim Bok-hwan said. "Through the project financing agreement and a swift ground-breaking, we will demonstrate Korea's policy finance capabilities and airport operation competitiveness in the Central Asian market."
The project was proposed to the Uzbekistan government by Vision Invest, a Saudi Arabian infrastructure investment firm, as a privately initiated PPP. It follows a build-transfer-operate model, under which the private consortium constructs the airport, transfers ownership to the government and retains operating rights. Consortium stakes are held as follows: Vision Invest at 45 percent, Japan's Sojitz at 30 percent, Uzbekistan Airports at 10 percent, and Incheon International Airport Corporation and KIND at 7.5 percent each.
smh@heraldcorp.com
