Baku, Azerbaijan, March 13
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
Aktau International Airport is on the verge of bankruptcy after the devaluation of the Kazakh national currency held on February 11, Novosti-Kazakhstan reported on March 13 referring to Kazakh parliament member Mikhail Bortnik.
"The adjustment of the currency rate held by the National Bank puts the company on the brink of bankruptcy," Bortnik said in a request to the Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov.
Aktau International Airport owned by regional authorities has significantly improved its material and technical base recently, according to the parliament member. In particular, a new modern building of the airport complex has been constructed, the runway has been reconstructed and additional taxiways have been built.
These measures helped the airport to increase the number of flights and launch some new internal and eternal flights.
"Passenger traffic has almost doubled from 460,000 to 770,000 people in the last five years," Bortnyk said.
The amount of transported goods also increased.
Aktau International Airport signed bank loan agreement with Development Bank of Kazakhstan in 2011 to fund the modernization project, according to Bortnik.
Meanwhile the airport is not allowed to increase tariffs on its services because these tariffs are regulated by the Agency on Regulation of Natural Monopolies.
"Dear Serik Nygmetovich (Akhmetov), we ask you to order to consider the restructuring of the loan, reducing the interest rate of the bank-borrower in order to preserve the airport," Bortnyk said to the Prime Minister.
The National Bank of Kazakhstan devaluated its national currency from 155 to 185 tenge per one dollar on Feb.11.
