Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Kyrgyzstan is ready to consider offers to cooperate in establishing a civil aviation hub at its Manas airport, the site of a former American military base that withdrew last year.

This remark was made by Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev in an interview with RIA Novosti on June 30.

"We plan to develop the airport as a civic hub. We consider the configuration of cooperation on this issue. We are open to proposals and ready to consider them in the obligatory consideration of our national economic interests," the president noted.

The Transit Center, formerly known as a military base, was opened at the Manas International Airport in late 2001. The center was a major logistics hub for the transit of servicemen and supplies to aid the coalition forces to Afghanistan. It accommodated about 1,200 U.S. soldiers. According to Pentagon statistics, the base handled up to 15,000 coalition servicemen and 500 tons of cargo a month.

In July 2014, the Kyrgyz president ordered the closure of the American military base at Manas airport, where the government expects to establish a multimodal transport and logistics center.

The establishment of an aviation hub is a strategic transport infrastructure project and is enshrined in Kyrgyzstan’s national strategy for sustainable development for the period of 2013-2017.

Kyrgyz authorities hope that as a result of liberalization of the international air transport market, the Central Asian country will be able to become "an optimal place" for the passage of air routes linking Western Europe and East Asia, which will spark economic development and attract investments to the country.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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