Residents of Shymkent are complaining about the high cost of parking near the new airport terminal. According to them, even a short stop can cost several thousand tenge.
According to Kazinform News Agency, motorists claim that the free 15 minutes of parking is not enough, as queues at the exit mean people cannot leave the area within the allotted time.
Residents are asking the relevant authorities to check the justification for the fees, pointing to a sharp increase in cost compared to previous years.
For their part, the Shymkent City Administration explained that the cost depends on the distance of the parking space from the terminal entrance: the closer the stopping zone, the higher the tariff.
- First line (directly at the entrance) – 10,000 tenge for parking over 15 minutes.
- Second row (approximately 5 metres away) — 2,000 tenge for parking over 15 minutes, then 2,000 tenge per hour.
- General parking (30–40 metres from the terminal) — up to 12 hours: 200 tenge, from 12 to 24 hours: 3,000 tenge, then 2,000 tenge per day.
Deputy Mayor of Shymkent Sarsen Kuranbek stated that SCAT JSC, which owns the airport, allegedly has the right to independently determine the cost in order to recover the 24 billion tenge invested in the construction of the new terminal.
"After such investments, the investor has the right to recover part of the costs. The land in front of the airport has been leased temporarily for parking, and the entrepreneur set the tariffs within the framework of the law," he noted.
Meanwhile, the official website of the city administration reports that in 2020, the car park in front of the terminal was built using the Shymkent budget. 912 million tenge was allocated for these purposes. However, it now transpires that this area generates income for a private company.