KAZAKHSTAN. Groupe ADP company TAV Airports and its partner Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund have completed the acquisition of Almaty Airport and taken over operations. They have pledged a US$200 million investment to double the airport’s capacity to more than 14 million passengers annually over the next three years.
TAV is now the 85% owner of Almaty Airport and associated fuel and catering businesses. Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund, managed by VPE Capital and backed by Kazyna Capital Management, holds the remaining 15% stake. Almaty is the first airport in TAV’s portfolio where the company owns the airport rather than managing it through a time-limited concession.
The previously agreed purchase price of US$415 million was revised down to US$365 million to take into account the decline in traffic due to the pandemic. Depending on the pace of recovery, the consortium will pay the additional US$50 million in coming years.
TAV Airports President & CEO Sani Şener said: “We’re happy to add Almaty Airport, which is a main transit hub between Asia and Europe, to our portfolio. Almaty is strategically located on ‘the modern Silk Road’, established from China to Europe and Africa through air transport. Kazakhstan is the largest country in the region both geographically and economically, and Almaty is the largest city in the country, producing 20% of Kazakhstan’s GDP.
“We believe there’s significant potential for growth in Almaty Airport, and drawing upon our extensive know-how, we’ll work towards realising this potential to the fullest. As part of the largest airport management group globally, we’ll be promoting Almaty and Kazakhstan as the business capital of the region, as a country with a rich cultural heritage and diverse tourism opportunities. Our expertise in route development will help to increase the connectivity of Almaty to the world. As an example, in Georgia we doubled the number of destinations and increased passenger traffic seven-fold in a decade.”
Kazyna Capital Management Chief Executive Officer Ainur Kuatova said: “Kazyna Capital Management’s mission is to promote sustainable economic development in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and this project does just that – at scale. We’re proud to be part of this milestone project that brings in excess of US$600 million in foreign capital along with leading international expertise into a key infrastructure asset. For every dollar that KCM is investing, foreign partners are investing more than US$20.”
Roland Nash, Partner at VPE Capital said: “Today TAV and the Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund kick off a new era as owners of Almaty International Airport, with immediate plans for a major expansion and modernisation of the facility. This project represents one of the largest foreign direct investments into Kazakhstan outside the natural resources sector.”
The base of national carrier Air Astana, Almaty Airport served 6.4 million passengers in 2019, with a +13% increase compared to the previous year. The airport announced net profits in 2020 despite a fall in traffic to 3.6 million due to travel restrictions caused by COVID-19.
In addition to Air Astana, Bek Air, SCAT Airlines and Qazak Air also use Almaty as their base. Pre-pandemic, Almaty was a major regional transportation hub for 26 passenger and eight cargo airlines serving multiple destinations. Air Astana provided almost half of the passenger traffic.
The consortium received approval from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to finance 50% of the acquisition and 100% of the new terminal investment with a loan. The financing is expected to be closed in the third quarter of 2021.
