The Turkic Investment Fund (TIF) has announced its participation in a $670 million internationally syndicated loan arranged by Bank of America (BofA) to finance the capital investment programme at Almaty International Airport. TIF's commitment to the deal is up to $20 million.
The syndicate also includes the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), contributing $100 million as a senior co-lender, along with Merrill Lynch International, Société Générale, and several Kazakhstani banks.
The funds will support runway and airside infrastructure modernization, cargo capacity expansion, construction of aircraft de-icing facilities, and improvements to the airport's operational resilience and environmental performance.
Almaty is Central Asia's busiest airport by passenger traffic, serving more than 11 million passengers annually and handling approximately two-thirds of Kazakhstan's total air cargo volume. The airport serves as Air Astana's home base and sits on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (the Middle Corridor) linking China and Europe. The airport is operated by Turkey's TAV Airports.
For the Turkic Investment Fund, the transaction marks its first investment in transport infrastructure and its first participation in a major internationally syndicated loan since the fund's founding. The move also reflects growing economic partnership between Kazakhstan and Türkiye, TIF's two founding member states.
The financing follows an earlier round of investment in Almaty airport's development: in 2021, the EBRD, Germany's DEG, and the IFC financed a terminal expansion that increased the airport's capacity from 3 million to 14 million passengers annually, with the new international terminal opening in 2024.