DUSHANBE, April 20, Asia-plus — Tajik national airline top manager told journalists in Dushanbe on April 20 that French companies Alpha Airport and Sofema Groupe have started preparation work to reconstruct the Dushanbe airport.
According to him, a group of Tajik and French specialists are currently working on preparation of the required documents. “A sketch of new airport has also been concerted and it remains to conduct a feasibility study,” Tilloyev said adding that French companies are making preparations for assembling modular asphalt and concrete plants; some parts of the plants have already been delivered to Tajikistan.”
Tilloyev noted that reconstruction of the airport will start most likely in May. “The airport reconstruction includes the construction of new terminal and reconstruction of the parking lot,” the TajikAir head said.
These French companies are suppliers of support services for airlines and airports. Sofema Groupe, in particular, intervenes in several different sectors, including civil aviation, transport, airport and technology, infrastructure, trade, stocks and logistics.
The Dushanbe airport was established in November 1929 and the present terminal complex and runway were put into operation in 1960. By the mid-1990s, the facility”s only runway, which was too short to accommodate large international planes, was in poor condition. In 1995 the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) gave Tajikistan a grant of US$4 million to repair and lengthen the runway.
