"Sukhumi Airport, named after Vladislav Ardzinba, becomes the property of the Russian Federation. Abkhazia only has an access road and an electricity distribution point. "Investors" and the Russian Federation shared all the other objects in the complex among themselves" - the Abkhazian online edition "Nuzhnaya Gazeta" reports this information.
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Before that, the so-called Ministry of Economy of Abkhazia published a photo taken by Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov of Sukhumi Airport, according to which the artificial runway, control tower and checkpoint are indicated as "objects of the Russian Federation". According to the same photo, the air terminal complex building, the station's forecourt and the gas station belong to the "investment facilities". At the same time, only the central electricity distribution point and the access road remain "objects of the Republic of Abkhazia".
According to the so-called Ministry of Economy, the facilities of the airport complex are divided into categories corresponding to the funding source for the planned work. The primary condition for the realization of the project is the "preservation of the property of the Republic of Abkhazia". According to the current plan, Sukhumi Airport should start operating in 2024.
After the visit of the Russian Minister of Economy to Abkhazia, it became known that the Russian industrial group "Bazovy Element" belongs to the Russian oligarch and aluminium magnate Oleg Deripaska, will finance the rehabilitation project of the Sukhumi airport.
54-year-old Deripaska is a Russian billionaire allied to President Vladimir Putin, who has been included in the list of sanctioned persons by the United States of America. Deripaska came under sanctions in 2018 after attempting to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election. Deripaska challenged the sanctions in court but to no avail.
Sukhumi Airport, built in the 1960s, was closed in 1993 due to military operations, and no flights are operated there. On August 11, 2008, Russian military-transport planes landed for the first time during the Russian-Georgian war. On September 14, 2008, a civilian plane of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia landed at the airport. The de facto government of Abkhazia has been talking about its restoration for years. On July 26, 2019, the so-called Abkhazia Cabinet of Ministers also adopted a resolution to which "Vladislav Ardzinba Sukhumi International Airport" should be opened for international flights.
According to the Law of Georgia "On Occupied Territories", Abkhazia and the airspace above it is an occupied territory and, accordingly, it is subject to the state of emergency rule, which prohibits international air traffic over the occupied territories.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognizes Abkhazia as a constituent part of Georgia. As a result, Sukhumi Airport has had its airport code cancelled since 2006.
