The Government of Tajikistan has ordered the State Committee on Investments and State-owned Property Management (GosKomInvest) and the Civil Aviation Agency to prepare proposals on attracting investments through privatization of holding of shares of Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air. The Government, which owns 100 percent of the shares in Tajik Air, is reportedly ready to pass Tajik Air’s shares into private hands in order to save the company from bankruptcy.
The government’s decree of September 25 orders to adopt a special program of state support for Tajik Air designed for 2018-2023.
According to the decree, the program has been worked out for the purpose of developing Tajik Air’s material and technical resources, improving its financial condition and raising its competitiveness.
The program, in particular, aims to continue work on carrying out stage-by-stage reforms in the management structure, modernizing production and technological processes, attracting domestic and foreign investments, expanding public-private partnership, improving technical resources, improving quality of services and ensuring healthy competition in the field of rendering air services.
The plan of actions on implementation of the program, in particular, provides for attracting investments through privatization of holding of shares of Tajik Air.
The plan of actions also proposes to set up a new organization structure of Tajik Air based on job cuts and reduction of the company’s debts.
The plan of actions also provides for increasing flight frequencies on domestic and international air routes, including Dushanbe-Istanbul, Dushanbe-Dubai, Dushanbe-Sharjah.
Tajik Air (Tajikistan Airlines) is the national airline of Tajikistan. The airline has its main hub at the Dushanbe airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at the Khujand airport.
The company started operations on September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation. Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F-13 aircraft. It is the sixth oldest airline still in operation.
Tajik Air now serves the following destinations: China (Urumqi); India (New Delhi); Iran (Tehran, Mashhad); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek); Russia (Moscow, Novosibirsk, St Petersburg, and Surgut); and Tajikistan (Khorog and Khujand).
The Tajik Air management is currently considering potential upgrade of its air fleet with aircraft of modern Western technology.
Until 2008, Tajik Air had an absolute monopoly in Tajikistan’s air transport, owning all planes, airports, and airport and flight services. As a result of restructuring, Tajik Air was split up into several separate companies.
