Japan’s Sojitz Corporation is set to launch one of Central Asia’s most ambitious infrastructure projects: the construction of a new international airport in Tashkent. According to Express Asia, construction will begin in 2025 and is expected to be completed by 2028, with a total project cost estimated at $1 billion.
The airport will be developed through a public-private partnership (PPP) with Saudi Arabia’s Vision Invest. Japan’s investment is projected to reach several hundred million dollars. Once completed, the airport will have a capacity of up to 20 million passengers annually and support more than 40 take-offs and landings per hour, making it the largest aviation hub in Central Asia.
Sojitz brings experience in airport development from projects in Japan’s Kumamoto and Okinawa prefectures, as well as on the Pacific island of Palau. In Uzbekistan, its activities extend beyond aviation: in partnership with Turkey’s Rönesans International, the company is planning an 800-bed hospital in Samarkand, a 1 GW wind power plant, and a 1.6 GW thermal power plant.
Driven by consistent GDP growth of around 6% per year, Uzbekistan continues to attract Japanese investment, bolstered by favorable tax policies and a 15% corporate tax rate. The number of Japanese companies operating in the country has doubled over the past five years to 54. Among them, Toyota Tsusho, through Eurus Energy Holdings, is developing a 500 MW wind power project, while Marubeni is collaborating with UAE firms on a wastewater treatment facility.
In 2024, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev met with a Japanese delegation led by Tadashi Maeda, Chairman of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and representatives of Sojitz. The parties agreed on a three-year cooperation program with JBIC and a strategic roadmap with Sojitz for future projects in high-tech sectors. JBIC currently supports over $3.7 billion in joint ventures across Uzbekistan’s petrochemical, textile, energy, and infrastructure sectors.
Sojitz also reaffirmed its commitment to expanding its footprint in the country, including its role in the Syrdarya II IPP project, one of Uzbekistan’s largest planned power generation facilities.
AloJapan.com