Feature story

Air industry investments boost Tajik economy

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A very long commute to work…

Mountains define Tajikistan's beauty and challenges.

EBRD and donors have invested in runways and other air service infrastructure

Pilot Konstantin Egorov

Muzaffar Usmanov, associate banker in the Tajik RO, with airport officials Ahmedov and Kirilov

Hundreds of men dragging their feet and large suitcases leave the lovely gardens bordering Dushanbe’s main airport and head into the departure terminal. They’re among the 600,000 people who leave Tajikistan and their families each year to seek work in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg and other cities within reach of this Central Asian country.

Making sure migrant workers have safe, reliable air service so they can reach those jobs in Russia is a priority for the EBRD, donors and the government. The country depends on it: remittances sent by migrant workers to their families back home account for an estimated 25 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, the poorest state to emerge out of the former Soviet Union.

“Tajikistan was not made for easy prosperity,” says Rustam Rustamov, Deputy Director of the Dushanbe Airport through which an estimated 400,000 migrant workers pass each year.

Mountains define Tajikistan’s beauty, and its poverty. More than half the country lies at 3km above sea level or higher. Transport within the country and to the rest of Central Asia is extremely difficult because of the terrain; in snowy winter months road travel is virtually impossible.

There are flatter routes through Uzbekistan but the Uzbek government keeps closing the border. Tajiks could do more business with India – were Afghanistan not in the way. The road to the Kyrgyz Republic is often unsafe due to weather, banditry and the rumoured movement of drug couriers and insurgents from Afghanistan. Civil war in the 1990s added to the country’s woes.

But the country is getting on its feet, with GDP growth of 10 per cent per annum in recent years. One sign of this is the rising demand for airplane tickets. Unfortunately the supply has been limited by outdated air facilities in Dushanbe, the capital, and in Khoujand, the major northern city.

The EBRD and donors have been working with the Tajik government since 1995 to improve the country’s air services. These include:

• $4 million in EBRD loans and $2 million from the Japan Fund for Post-Conflict Support to improve air traffic control and other aspects of flight navigation at the two airports;
• a $1.8 million EBRD loan and $2.5 million grant from the Japan Fund 1999 for repairs to the Khoujand runway;
• a $4 million grant from the Netherlands for runway repairs in Dushanbe;
• and in late 2004 the EBRD Board approved a loan of $5 million for Tajik State Air to cover expenses related to the airline’s plan to lease two or more relatively new airplanes. The loan would cover costs such as training crew and other technical staff in working with those planes and to cover registration fees. The leased aircraft would likely be around seven years old; much of Tajik Air’s existing Russian-made fleet is 22 years old, requires too much maintenance and is reaching the end of its useful life. Previous attempts to introduce western-manufactured aircraft into the CIS have largely failed for reasons including the lack of funding for related costs such as staff training.

Air services in Tajikistan meet International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) requirements, within certain limitations which the above long-term investments address.

“Under windy conditions, which are common, there’s only one runway suitable for use,” said Batur Ahmedov, director of the Khoujand airport. “Our radar is Czech, 30 years old, and will be replaced with up-to-date microchip technology.”

“Our existing equipment keeps us going but it’s out of date,” said Dushanbe Airport’s Mr Rustamov. For example new runway lights will allow the airport to handle more flights at night and in bad weather. Modern radio equipment in the new Air Traffic Control Centre (ATC) and tower will give pilots and controllers greater assurance and speed in managing take-off and landing.

“It’s really fantastic that somebody’s helping us to get this building and equipment,” enthused Vladislav Kirilov, Dushanbe’s chief air traffic controller. The new ATC building is almost complete and includes special features common to ATC centres in the most developed countries: a relaxation room and a work-out room, both to promote controllers’ physical and mental health so that they can tolerate high stress levels.

“We invest a lot of money training people, we want them to stay and be fit and happy in their work,” Mr Kirilov added. “Both our staff and passengers expect our services to be up-to-date.”

“We need modernisation,” said Captain Konstantin Egorov, sitting in the cockpit of his 26-year-old Soviet-made Yak 40. “These improvements will definitely boost tourism and other business that will help the country grow.”

The EBRD loan in support of aircraft leasing would be the first made to a Tajik state entity without the requirement of a guarantee from the national government which cannot undertake such commitments due to its already high indebtedness. Tajik Air is able to assume the debt because its profits are projected to grow from $8 million in 2003 to $10-23 million by 2008 thanks to the leased aircraft.

4 February 2005