Most airports in Central Asia are still attempting to grow passenger and cargo traffic in parallel, stretching resources across two fundamentally different operating models. Navoi International Airport has taken a more deliberate path, positioning itself squarely as a cargo-first hub for Eurasian transit flows.
“The main focus of Navoi Airport has never been passenger traffic,” said Alisher Klichev, director of Navoi International Airport. “Our goal is to create a central hub for cargo transit between Europe and Asia, offering seamless integration across air, road, and rail transport.”
Building the infrastructure to back it up
A major expansion programme is underway to support that positioning. A new cargo terminal of 16,000 sq m is currently under construction, designed to handle general cargo as well as valuable and dangerous goods, alongside e-commerce shipments and postal and courier traffic.
An additional 10,000 tons of aviation fuel is being added under a presidential resolution, taking total storage to 15,000 tons. The expansion is aimed at supporting higher cargo flight frequencies and ensuring operational resilience for long-haul freight operations.
Alongside physical capacity, the airport is introducing dedicated operational zones for cargo processing, express freight, and postal and courier services. The intent is to streamline handling flows, reduce turnaround times, and improve efficiency for time-sensitive shipments moving between Asian and European markets — the segment Navoi sees as its core competitive window.
The airport already hosts carriers including Maersk, MNG, MyFreighter and FlyKhiva, signalling active operational engagement rather than speculative interest. Its position on key corridors linking China with Europe and the Middle East, combined with consistently stable flying conditions, low humidity, limited fog, and proximity to industrial zones, is being positioned as a structural advantage over more congested logistics hubs.
The customs angle
The most consequential element of Navoi’s strategy is the introduction of a porto-franco customs regime. The framework allows goods to be imported, stored, processed and re-exported without duties or taxes, enabling consolidation, splitting and repackaging within a single regulatory environment. Duty exemptions are in place until 1st January 2029.
“The porto-franco regime is a key turning point. It will dramatically improve the speed of cargo processing and enhance the airport’s appeal to international logistics companies,” Klichev said.
For freight forwarders assessing Eurasian routing options, customs flexibility of this kind is often decisive. Infrastructure capacity matters, but dwell time and clearance cost are ultimately the variables that shape routing decisions.
What comes next
Further down the development pipeline is a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre scheduled for completion by 2029. The facility will include hangars for servicing and painting wide-body aircraft.
A TIR park capable of accommodating up to 50 trucks is also under construction. It is intended to link road freight more directly into the airport’s air and rail logistics systems, completing the multimodal framework Navoi is seeking to establish.
In a region where multiple airports are competing for the same Eurasian transit flows, Navoi’s singular focus on cargo, supported by regulatory flexibility, expanding fuel infrastructure and an established base of airline operators, gives it a distinct positioning. The coming years will determine whether that strategy translates into sustained freight volumes capable of validating the scale of investment now being deployed.
The post Navoi’s moment: Uzbekistan’s second airport bets big on being Central Asia’s pure-play cargo hub appeared first on Air Cargo Week.
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Author: Edward Hardy
