BISHKEK. Feb 2 (Interfax) - A draft agreement on aviation fuel deliveries to the former U.S. air base at Bishkek International Airport, currently known as the Transit Center at Manas, institutes an operator, to be picked by Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz government has drafted a new agreement on aviation fuel deliveries to the Transit Center at Manas, allowing a local supplier to fill American planes, Energy Minster Askar Shadiev told the parliamentary committee for the fuel and energy complex.
A share of aviation fuel will be delivered by an operator, to be selected by the Kyrgyz side, the minister said.
The state-run Manas Fuel-Filling Complex, set up on the basis of a private filling firm, nationalized last year, is expected to be used for filling aircraft, Shadiev said.
Kyrgyzstan hopes that if an intergovernmental agreement is signed with the U.S., a Kyrgyz-Russian joint venture could be set up, involving Gazpromneft - a prospect currently being negotiated, the minister said.
Kyrgyzstan, which does not deliver fuel to the base, loses up to $100,000 each day. "An agreement on fuel deliveries to the Transit Center will bring Kyrgyzstan $50 million - $60 million in profit, annually," Shadiev said.