The dream wings of the Central Asian leaders

n Tajikistan, construction has just been completed on a special hangar for the luxurious presidential aircraft that Emomali Rakhmon purchased from Mexico, which could no longer afford the maintenance costs. This is the latest example of a widespread trend among heads of state throughout the region.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews) - A huge new hangar has just been completed in Dushanbe, built for the presidential Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner aircraft, capable of flying across oceans without stopping.

The cost of this construction is unknown, as was the cost of purchasing the ‘dream’ aircraft, which is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars. Emomali Rakhmon has always loved luxury aircraft and certainly did not want to be outdone by his colleagues in neighbouring countries.

The new hangar will now be tested and inspected by a huge state commission made up of representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Architecture Committee, the State Property Agency and other bodies with various areas of expertise.

Until recently, Rakhmon flew on aircraft belonging to the private company Somon Air, but according to a tweet by former Mexican President Enrique Peña Neto, the new presidential plane was sold off to the Tajiks for million in order to get rid of it due to excessive maintenance costs.

The purchase caused quite a stir, against the backdrop of government appeals to citizens not to spend money excessively, especially by foregoing overly lavish wedding celebrations. Mexico has promised to use the money received to build new hospitals.

Since 2019, the president of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has also been using a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in VIP configuration, like that of his neighbour Rakhmon, in the national colours of Uzbekistan.

Before this sumptuous aircraft, Mirziyoyev wanted an Airbus A340 owned by the Uzbek-Putin oligarch Alisher Usmanov, also to attend important summits and UN assemblies.

The aircraft is now being offered for rent at astronomical prices, as it is one of the most expensive aircraft in the world, costing around 0 million. His profile regularly appears on radars not only in Tashkent, but also in Moscow and Nice, raising many questions among journalists and activists.

The large Aviapark No. 1 in Astana has long been associated with the name of ‘eternal president’ Nursultan Nazarbayev, who used the flagship Airbus A330-243 Prestige, another 0 million aircraft with expensive modernisation work, capable of flying up to 13,000 kilometres without refuelling.

In 2022, an investigation revealed that the Nazarbayev family had purchased another Airbus Acj320neo liner for over 0 million from a Swiss company, and today the luxury aircraft have been assigned to the Berkut Air fleet, controlled by the Kazakh presidential administration. The new president, Kasym-Žomart Tokaev, initially used more modest aircraft, before appropriating those of his predecessor.

The most modest country in Central Asia in terms of presidential grandeur remains Kyrgyzstan, where until 2024, head of state Sadyr Žaparov was content with a Tu-154M aircraft dating back to 1993, when it was donated by Moscow to Bishkek. In March last year, the Bort No. 1, a 2002 Airbus A320 for short- and medium-haul flights, was unveiled.

It was the first aircraft to be included in the state budget for the president, and the then prime minister, Akylbek Žaparov, boasted that ‘only yesterday we couldn't afford it’. The exact cost of the operation is unknown, but it does not reach the heights of Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.

The president of Turkmenistan, Serdar Berdymukhamedov, inherited from his father Gurbanguly not only power, but also the lavish symbols of it, including a rich fleet of aircraft, among which the Boeing 777-200Lr stands out, painted in the national colours of white and green and bearing the country's coat of arms on the fuselage.

It is one of the most expensive and powerful long-haul aircraft, which, with VIP additions, exceeds 0 million, with gold-plated interiors. It is flanked by two other Boeing 737s, because aircraft are one of the main symbols of the Turkmen presidential cult and of all the great Central Asian monarchs.