Daniyar Bostonov, director of Kyrgyzstan's State Agency of Civil Aviation, announced plans to build a new airport for cargo flights in Manas city. He said this in an interview with the Kabar national news agency, which the media relayed on 30 October 2026. The publications give the location as Manas in Jalal-Abad Region.
What is planned
According to Bostonov, the airport will focus on transit logistics and become part of a large transport and logistics hub combining air, rail and road transport. It will be able to receive both small cargo aircraft and large aircraft such as the Boeing 747.
Why there
The site has been chosen near the route of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway under construction. According to Bostonov, this will make cargo logistics more convenient and efficient. He also noted that flights between Kyrgyzstan and China already operate and that the route is relevant for organising cargo flights from Kashgar.
What has not been announced
The customer, investor and funding source, cost, construction timeline, area and aerodrome parameters, including runway length, have not been named. It is not disclosed whether this is a separate facility or linked to previously announced projects in Jalal-Abad and at Manas airport near Bishkek. Flights from Kashgar are mentioned as a possibility, with no agreed programme.
Our assessment: a statement by the head of the sector regulator shows a direction, not a project with funding and timelines. Until a location, investor and aerodrome parameters appear, it is too early to speak of a specific facility. The ability to receive the Boeing 747 is given in publications without technical specifications, so it cannot be treated as confirmed. This is flycentralasia's conclusion, not a statement by Kyrgyzstan's State Agency of Civil Aviation.
What businesses can do. Cargo and multimodal operators, forwarders and investors should ask the Civil Aviation Agency and the transport ministry for data on the facility: location, land allocation and project status. Airlines considering cargo flights from China to Central Asia should not build the new airport into their calculations until aerodrome parameters are published.