L&T Secures Tashkent Airport Contract Worth Over ₹15,000 Crore
Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro has received a Limited Notice to Proceed for the New Tashkent International Airport project in Uzbekistan.
By The Aviation Hub
4 min read
Indian engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro has been awarded a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) for the New Tashkent Airport project in Uzbekistan, with the contract classified as ultra-mega and valued at more than ₹15,000 crore.
The award marks the formal start of early-stage engineering and procurement work on a terminal designed to handle 17 million passengers a year at opening, with long-term capacity projected to reach 54 million. It places L&T at the centre of one of Central Asia's most significant aviation infrastructure programmes.
What the LNTP Covers
According to Trade Brains, the consortium leading the public-private partnership project is headed by Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest Group, Japan's Sojitz and South Korea's Incheon Airport. L&T's scope sits within its Public Spaces, Airports and Health vertical and follows an earlier EPC contract to build the passenger terminal and landside infrastructure.
The LNTP allows L&T to begin Engineering, Detailed Design, Planning and Procurement preparation. A full Notice to Proceed, which triggers full construction, requires agreement on the conditions set out by the consortium. Services in scope include site grading, roads, structural work, architectural finishes, mechanical, electrical and plumbing services, utilities and advanced airport systems.
Why Central Asia Needs This Terminal
Uzbekistan's aviation market has grown sharply. Trade Brains reports that 15.5 million passengers travelled through the country's airports in 2025, a rise of 15 per cent on the previous year, and passenger numbers grew a further 16 per cent in the first half of 2026 to reach 8.15 million. Central Asia as a whole became the fastest-growing aviation sub-region in 2025, with around 60 million passengers.
The existing Tashkent airport is projected to hit capacity by 2029. The new facility is intended to absorb that demand and then expand well beyond it, with total investment in the project estimated at between USD 2.5 billion and USD 3.3 billion, according to Trade Brains.
Where the New Tashkent Airport Fits in L&T's Order Book
As the Economic Times reports, the contract is classified by L&T as ultra-mega, meaning it exceeds ₹15,000 crore in value. International work already accounts for 52 per cent of L&T's ₹7.79 lakh crore order book, with the Middle East representing roughly 71 per cent of overseas projects and Europe around 14 per cent. Tashkent adds a Central Asian dimension to that mix.
Trade Brains notes that L&T's infrastructure arm slowed in the most recent quarter as projects moved through early stages, and a large contract entering design and procurement helps replenish that pipeline. Revenue from the project will build gradually until the full Notice to Proceed is issued and construction begins at scale.
The Broader Airport Investment Wave
The Tashkent contract sits within a much larger global push. ACI projects that airports across Asia and the Middle East are about to enter a USD 240 billion investment period over the coming decade, enabling them to accommodate an additional 1.24 billion passengers, according to Trade Brains. Worldwide passenger numbers are forecast to reach 18.8 billion by 2045, up from 10.2 billion in 2026.
For engineering firms with proven terminal delivery credentials, the pipeline of potential work is substantial. L&T has built airport experience across India and the Gulf, including a recent people mover order at Dubai's Al Maktoum airport.
What Happens Next
The LNTP gives L&T the authority to advance design and procurement, but the main Notice to Proceed is the prerequisite for full construction to begin. That notice depends on the consortium reaching agreement on a set of conditions, as Trade Brains explains.
Until that milestone is reached, billing and revenue from the project will remain at early-stage levels. The scale of the eventual construction programme, covering a terminal for tens of millions of passengers, means the contract has the potential to keep teams occupied for several years once full works commence.
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The Bottom Line
L&T's LNTP for the New Tashkent Airport is a meaningful step forward for one of Central Asia's most ambitious aviation projects. The terminal is being built to address a capacity crunch that is already visible, in a region posting some of the strongest passenger growth figures in the world.
The contract's ultra-mega classification underlines its scale, and the progression to a full Notice to Proceed will be the moment to watch. For L&T, Tashkent diversifies a largely Middle East-weighted international order book and adds a project with a multi-year construction runway once conditions are agreed.
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