Korea Airports Corporation Enters Kazakhstan Urban Air Mobility and Drone Traffic Management Market

Signed LOI with Alatau Group for Project Cooperation
Carrying Out Software Development and Technology Transfer
Aiming for Nationwide System Implementation by 2028

Korea Airports Corporation is introducing its next-generation air traffic management system, developed with domestic technology, to the Central Asian market.

On the 15th, at the Korea-Kazakhstan Business Roundtable event held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul, Kim Wonjun, President of Korea Airports Corporation (left), and Sergey Kegai, President of Kazakhstan AAAG (right), are taking a commemorative photo after signing the Letter of Intent (LOI) for participation in the UTM/UATM system construction project. Photo by Choi Youngchan

On September 15, Korea Airports Corporation announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Alatau Future Aviation Group (AAAG), the dedicated smart city development company of Kazakhstan, for participation in the "Kazakhstan Drone Traffic Management (UTM) and Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) System Construction Project" at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The signing ceremony was held during the "Korea-Kazakhstan Business Roundtable" event, which took place in conjunction with the Korea-Central Asia Summit involving five countries. Key figures including government officials and business representatives from both nations attended the ceremony, formalizing the intent for project cooperation.

Recently, the Kazakhstani government has been updating its laws and systems to support future mobility, and is pushing to introduce state-of-the-art low-altitude air traffic management infrastructure linked with smart cities. Recognized for its accumulated demonstration data and system operation capabilities, Korea Airports Corporation was selected as the preferred negotiation partner for this project in July.

The corporation aims to establish its self-developed low-altitude air traffic management system in the airspace of an overseas city and operate it for the first time. This includes developing software tailored to local conditions, transferring technology, and training operations personnel. Starting with pilot operations in selected regions in the fourth quarter of this year, the project will expand its coverage throughout Kazakhstan by 2028.

Wonjun Kim, President of Korea Airports Corporation, said, "Signing this Letter of Intent (LOI) is an official recognition of the excellence of our UTM/UATM technology on the international stage," adding, "We will thoroughly prepare for the upcoming official contract so that our technology can become the standard for low-altitude aviation in the Central Asian market."

Building on this project, Korea Airports Corporation plans to accelerate its expansion into the global air traffic management system market, including other parts of Central Asia.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.