Aktau International Airport targets 100,000 tonnes with $600mn expansion

Aktau International Airport plans to begin construction on a major expansion in early 2027, with a project worth around $600 million that will include a new 10,000-square-metre cargo handling facility, an MRO centre, a training centre and a civil aviation academy, according to Mustafa Yıltan Öktem, Deputy General Manager of Aktau International Airport.

Speaking exclusively to The STAT Trade Times at the Central Asia Air Cargo Summit 2026 in Tashkent, Öktem said the airport is working with Lufthansa Consulting on a business plan for the development, which is expected to start in 2027. The construction is planned to start early next year and take around 18 months for completion.

The expansion is designed to turn Aktau into a larger multimodal cargo and aviation hub in western Kazakhstan, with the airport seeking to combine air cargo with rail and seaport connections. Öktem said the project will target e-commerce, perishables, pharmaceuticals and other valuable, time-sensitive cargo.

Aktau currently has a cargo terminal with around 2,500 square metres of capacity. The airport's own information says the existing cargo terminal can potentially be expanded to three times its current capacity, while customs and border control facilities operate 24/7.

The planned new cargo facility will be separate from the existing terminal. Öktem said a railway connection is also planned into the airport's cargo handling area, allowing cargo arriving from China by rail to move directly into the airport facility for onward air transport.

"The cargo will come to Aktau and then it will fly in five to six hours to Europe," Öktem said, adding that the airport believes this could allow even narrowbody aircraft to serve Europe from Aktau after cargo is brought closer to the Caspian by land.

The airport's strategy is closely linked to its location on the western edge of Kazakhstan and near the Caspian Sea. Öktem said cargo moving across Kazakhstan by rail can reach Aktau before being transferred to air freight for Europe, potentially reducing the cost compared with flying cargo from locations further east in Central Asia.

Building around multimodal cargo
The development is also intended to connect Aktau Airport more closely with the seaport and railway network.

Aktau is located in the Mangystau region, Kazakhstan's only region with access to the sea, and the airport has positioned itself as part of a wider multimodal transport system. The airport says this could allow it to compete with other regional transit cargo hubs by combining air, rail and sea transport.

Aktau gives you the opportunity to connect seaport, airport and land transport. We have a connection with the seaports, and this multimodal approach creates a synergy between air, sea and land transport.
Mustafa Yıltan Öktem, Aktau International Airport

 Öktem said the airport's role would be particularly important when sea transport across the Caspian becomes slower because of weather or other operational conditions.

"If the Caspian Sea sometimes takes a long time or due to weather conditions it's not easy, in this part we will have cooperation with the seaports and the cargo can go through air transport," he said.

The airport's current infrastructure already supports cargo operations around the Caspian. Aktau International Airport has 24-hour customs, immigration, fuelling and handling operations while cargo-handling facilities capable of handling up to 35 tonnes.

Öktem said the airport is targeting cargo such as e-commerce, perishables and pharmaceuticals for air transport, while larger and less time-sensitive commodities would remain better suited to sea or rail.

From oil industry cargo to wider freight flows
Aktau's cargo business has historically been closely connected to the oil industry in the Caspian region. The airport says the growth of the oil industry increased demand for the rapid movement of equipment and other cargo for oil workers.

Öktem said the airport continues to see irregular charter cargo operations carrying industrial equipment and spare parts. The airport has also upgraded its airfield infrastructure to handle larger freighter aircraft.

He said increasing the pavement classification number will allow Aktau to handle Boeing 747 freighters, which is important for the movement of large industrial components.

Öktem referred to a recent Boeing 747-400F charter carrying an oversized gas turbine from the UK as an example of the type of project cargo the airport can handle. However, he said such industrial cargo is likely to remain irregular rather than become a regular scheduled cargo segment because it is driven mainly by urgent requirements linked to investment, repairs and industrial operations.

Positioning for China-Europe cargo
The airport also sees an opportunity to capture cargo moving along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, as trade between China and Europe increasingly uses routes through Central Asia and the Caspian region.

Öktem said Aktau's location could give it an advantage because cargo can move by rail or road towards the Caspian before being transferred to air freight for Europe.

He said the airport expects its planned investment in cargo infrastructure to strengthen this model, particularly once rail access is connected directly with the cargo facility.

Aktau International Airport has also obtained EU RA3 certification, which Öktem described as an important development for the airport. He said the certification allows airlines to carry cargo from Aktau to European Union countries, including e-commerce shipments arriving through the railway network.

The airport has previously highlighted its access to multimodal transport systems and the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran railway, as well as available land for future warehouse development.

Lufthansa Consulting's role
Lufthansa Consulting's involvement adds another layer to Aktau's expansion plans. The consultancy is preparing the airport's business plan for the development, with completion expected in early 2027, according to Öktem.

Lufthansa Consulting has previously worked on airport development planning in Kazakhstan. In 2023, it held an airport master planning seminar in Astana with the support of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan. The seminar focused on international standards and new requirements for airport development plans, after master planning for international airports became mandatory in Kazakhstan from March 2023.

The consultancy also previously completed a master plan project for Almaty International Airport, covering future passenger and cargo growth and the development of cargo, maintenance, terminal and airfield infrastructure.

For Aktau, however, the plan is broader than cargo infrastructure alone. The proposed development combines cargo, MRO and aviation training, creating a larger aviation ecosystem around the airport.

MRO and aviation training
The MRO component is expected to be another major part of the investment. Öktem said the project will include a maintenance centre as well as a training centre and civil aviation academy.

The wider project has also received government attention. Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Administration said in July 2026 that plans for a multimodal logistics and aviation hub at Aktau Airport had entered a new stage. The project combines aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, air cargo, aviation training and logistics infrastructure. The government said the planned facility is expected to provide maintenance services for more than 200 aircraft annually and create around 3,500 permanent jobs.

This places the cargo expansion within a broader effort to develop Aktau as an aviation and logistics centre rather than simply increasing its existing warehouse capacity.

Looking towards 100,000 tonnes
Öktem said the airport's longer-term target is to develop capacity to handle around 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of cargo a year.

He also pointed to planned improvements to Kazakhstan's road and rail network, including a project intended to create a shorter connection between Aktau and Almaty, as factors that could improve the airport's access to inland cargo markets.

Aktau International Airport is competing with other Central Asian airports that are also seeking to position themselves as regional transit hubs. Öktem said airports such as Almaty, Astana and Tashkent are pursuing similar ambitions, but argued that Aktau has a different proposition because of its location and connection to the Caspian Sea.

Rather than relying entirely on air transport, Aktau aims to use rail and road transport to bring cargo closer to the airport and then use aircraft for the longer Europe-bound leg.

"From Central Asia, they burn more fuel and it's more expensive," Öktem said. "But in Aktau, you can use the land transport in the maximum way."

The airport's strategy therefore rests on combining its position on the Caspian, its developing rail connections and expanded cargo infrastructure with air services to Europe. If the planned construction begins in early 2027 and is completed within the targeted 18 months, the development could significantly increase Aktau's role in Kazakhstan's emerging multimodal cargo network.