- Sojitz and Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest will build a $1 billion airport in Tashkent, becoming Central Asia’s largest hub by 2028
- The project strengthens Japan-Saudi cooperation and supports Uzbekistan’s infrastructure and economic growth
- Collaboration also includes energy, healthcare, and urban development projects in the region
Sojitz Corporation, a Japanese company, has made a big announcement regarding a new international airport in Tashkent, which by the year 2028 will likely turn out to be the biggest aviation center in Central Asia.
This construction of the airport that is estimated at $1 billion will be done along with Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest through a public-private partnership. The project is set to start in 2025. When it is opened, the airport is projected to have an annual capacity of around 20 million passengers and to perform more than 40 aircraft movements every hour.
The amount of Japan’s support, which is going to be in several hundred million dollars, signifies Tokyo's growing desire to upgrade the infrastructure of Central Asia. This $1 billion investment is an airport project in Uzbekistan, enhancing infrastructure and aviation in Central Asia through strategic Japan development initiatives.
The Tashkent international airport project is said to be one of the most notable and largest aviation developments in the whole region. The airport will have an advanced terminal as well as expanded runways to fully equip Uzbekistan to compete for the title of a major regional transit hub.
Sojitz has a lot of experience from its work on Japan's Kumamoto and Okinawa airports and even Palau International Airport to make sure that the project will comply with the highest safety, environmental, and operational standards globally.
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Sojitz and Vision Invest's partnership denotes the strategic connection between Japan and Saudi Arabia in Central Asia, not only in the field of aviation but also energy, healthcare, and urbanization.
The Japanese company Sojitz is also involved in a joint venture with Turkey's Rönesans International to construct a hospital with 800 beds in Samarkand, a wind farm with a capacity of 1 GW, and a thermal power project with a capacity of 1.6 GW.
The power projects have full support of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, whose goal is to transform the economy through massive infrastructure development and attracting foreign investments. The near 6% constant growth of GDP and a corporate tax rate of 15% have been the main reasons why Japanese companies consider Uzbekistan as a promising place for their investments.
In the past five years, the number of Japanese companies in Uzbekistan has increased from 27 to 54 with such notable names as Toyota Tsusho and Marubeni being part of that growth.
In order to deepen the trust and friendship between the two nations, President Mirziyoyev in 2024 had a meeting with the Chairman of JBIC Tadashi Maeda along with the Sojitz managers. With JBIC support of more than $3.7 billion being directed to Uzbek projects, the Tashkent airport which is under construction is destined to be the main project reflecting Japan's ongoing interest in Central Asia's development.