Syunik could serve international flights as Armenian airports management pledges multi‑million‑dollar investments

The Syunik Airport in the town of Kapan in the Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia could start serving international flights after a recent investment agreement.

At the January 22 Cabinet meeting, the Armenian government approved the fifth amendment to the concession agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and Corporacion America S.A., which runs the Yerevan and Gyumri airports.

The original concession agreement was signed on December 17, 2001, between the Armenian government and Corporacion America S.A.

With the adopted amendment, the guaranteed internal profitability and compensation formulas in the concession agreement are declared invalid, and the clause granting the right to extend the agreement indefinitely is also voided. It is noted that the parties—the government and the concessionaire—have no outstanding financial obligations to one another as of the date of signing the extension transaction.

Corporacion America S.A. pledges to invest $425 million by 2033 and will assume management of the airport in Kapan.

“The restrictions of the concession agreement on Kapan’s Syunik airport are being removed, and the term of the concession agreement is extended until the end of 2067. The concessionaire is obligated to make capital investments totaling $425 million, and a master plan and investment program will be submitted for government approval,” said Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, Armen Simonyan.

If passenger traffic decreases for two consecutive years during the concession term—dropping below 4 million passengers per year in all airports under its management through no fault of the concessionaire—the government must compensate the concessionaire for losses through tariff adjustments, but for no more than three years. The agreement also establishes that the concessionaire must return the airport and its assets to the government in fully operational condition at the end of the concession or in the event of early termination.

“It is reaffirmed that both the airport infrastructure and its operation must meet international first‑class standards throughout the entire period,” Simonyan said. Moreover, the planned investments are to be carried out by 2033.

Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan asked whether, if the amendment is signed, Kapan Airport could be operated as an international airport from that date—meaning Armenia would have a third international airport. Simonyan confirmed: “Such a legal basis is being created. Under the current concession agreement there is a limitation that if the government decides to convert any airport within a 250‑km radius of Zvartnots into a local or international airport, the incumbent concessionaire has priority rights to manage that airport. In this case, Kapan’s Syunik airport is excluded from that regulation under this amendment.”

He added that legally, yes, it can be an international airport. However, to make it fully functional as an international airport, Syunik Airport will need the necessary equipment and investments to establish border, customs, and other required services.