• Kazakhstan is translating its geographic advantage into hard infrastructure, with major aviation expansion plans and Sary-Arka International Airport positioning itself as a Eurasian multimodal cargo hub supported by significant capacity growth and a 25-year development master plan.
• Karagandy’s airport strategy is anchored in its central Eurasian location and existing logistics assets, enabling rapid cargo scaling and early operational proof points such as flower consolidation flows and China–Europe transit models that combine air and road segments.
• The hub’s competitiveness will hinge on cost and connectivity execution, with fuel pricing pressures partly offset by tax policy reforms and planned fuel infrastructure upgrades, alongside efforts to establish dedicated cargo carrier capability to strengthen network integration.

Kazakhstan has long traded on its geography in theory. In 2026, the theory is starting to become infrastructure. Kazakhstan’s civilian aviation sector transported about 20.8 million passengers in 2025, while the country’s airports handled 31.8 million people. Through 2028, the government plans to implement 11 infrastructure projects, including four new airports, two new runways and upgrades across five cities. The international route network is set to expand to 135 routes across 30 countries, up from 115 in 2024.

Within this national plan, one airport is staking a claim to something considerably larger. Karagandy’s Sary-Arka International Airport is positioning itself not as a regional freight facility but as a full-scale multimodal cargo hub for the Eurasian landmass, and the case it is making is grounded in specifics rather than aspiration. 

Yerlan Ospanov, owner of Saryarka Airport, puts the geographic argument plainly: “Karagandy sits at a point that enables flights on a six-plus-six or seven-plus-seven hour principle, roughly equidistant from major hubs across Eurasia. Very few locations on the continent offer that.”

The airport already has runways, cargo terminals, fuel complexes and logistics facilities in place, enabling capacity expansion without the delays typical of greenfield development. Cargo traffic is expected to increase more than sevenfold to 100,000 tonnes by the end of the year, supported by the arrival of global manufacturers and freight forwarders building logistics chains through the facility.

The airport recently presented a 25-year master plan to develop a multimodal air hub and build the QarGoCity cargo ecosystem around it. 

Franz Heuckeroth van Hessen, co-founder and managing director of ACG AirCargo Consultancy Global GmbH, assessed the location positively during the presentation: “Karagandy is one of the few locations in Eurasia with favorable conditions for a large-scale cargo hub due to its central location, available land, unconstrained airspace and ability to develop cargo infrastructure without competing with passenger operations.” 

The plan includes 600 hectares of cargo zones modelled on Liège Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport, designed to attract international freight forwarders and global integrators.

The operational model is already generating results. Ospanov described a programme in which flowers from Ecuador and Africa are consolidated in Liège, transported to Karagandy and then distributed by road. Transit programmes moving goods from China to Europe using truck-to-air and air-to-air models are also underway, giving the hub a tangible proof of concept rather than a purely prospective one.

Fuel costs remain a practical challenge. Airport fuel prices ranged from US$900 to US$1,200 per metric ton between December and January before stabilizing at around US$950. 

The government’s introduction of a zero value-added tax policy on imported aviation fuel is a step forward, and Karagandy plans to launch its own Jet A-1 fuel infrastructure by year’s end. 

“Our geography is stronger, our infrastructure is more developed, and we are also launching a cargo carrier, Kazakhstan Temir Zholy Air Cargo,” Ospanov concluded. 

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