Korea Airports Corporation Launches Push to Enter Kazakhstan’s UTM and UATM Markets, Seeks Nationwide Expansion by 2028

[Financial News] Korea Airports Corporation has begun efforts to export its homegrown drone and urban air mobility traffic-management technologies to Central Asia. After signing a letter of intent with a local Kazakhstan-based company, KAC plans to launch pilot operations in selected areas in the fourth quarter of this year. If the agreement leads to a formal contract, it would mark the first overseas deployment and operation of a UTM/UATM system developed in South Korea in an urban airspace.
Korea Airports Corporation announced on the 15th that it had signed a letter of intent to participate in the Kazakhstan UTM/UATM System Construction Project with Alatau Future Aviation Group (AAAG), a company responsible for smart-city development in Kazakhstan, at Four Seasons Hotel Seoul.
Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) is a drone traffic-management system that enables multiple drones to fly safely in low-altitude airspace. Urban Air Traffic Management (UATM) refers to a traffic-management system that supports the safe operation of urban air mobility (UAM).
The LOI was signed at the Korea-Kazakhstan Business Round Table held during the Korea-Central Asia summit involving the leaders of five countries. Before signing a formal contract, the two sides plan to work out key terms, including the project scope, technology transfer, and intellectual property rights.
Kazakhstan has recently been pursuing the development of low-altitude air traffic-management infrastructure for smart cities, alongside legal and institutional reforms to introduce future mobility. Based on its experience operating and demonstrating UTM and UATM systems in South Korea, KAC was selected as the preferred negotiating party for the project in July.
If the project gets fully underway, KAC will develop UTM and UATM software tailored to Kazakhstan’s environment, transfer the technology, and train local operating personnel. The company is pursuing a plan to begin pilot operations in selected areas in the fourth quarter of this year and expand the project nationwide across Kazakhstan by 2028.
If a formal contract is signed, the project is expected to become the first case in which KAC builds and operates a UTM/UATM system it developed domestically in an overseas urban airspace. KAC also plans to use the project as a stepping stone to expand into overseas low-altitude air traffic-management markets, including those in Central Asia.
Kim Won-jun, president of KAC, said, "The signing of this letter of intent is the result of the excellence of KAC’s UTM and UATM technologies being officially recognized on the international stage." He added, "We will thoroughly prepare for the formal contract signing scheduled for the future so that our technology can establish itself as the standard for the low-altitude aviation market in Central Asia."
[email protected] Kim Dong-ho Reporter