On September 29, 2026, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed in Tokyo a yen loan agreement with the Government of Mongolia for the "Chinggis Khaan International Airport Expansion Project." The airport, near the capital Ulaanbaatar, was built with a Japanese yen loan and opened in 2021, and Japanese companies have taken part in its operation since opening, making it a symbol of cooperation between Japan and Mongolia.
The project will build a new passenger terminal building and improve taxiways, aprons, parking lots and access roads, in order to handle growing passenger and cargo volumes, ease congestion at the airport and improve convenience. The maximum loan amount is 158,284 million yen, the interest rate is 1.10% per year, the repayment period is 40 years (including a 10-year grace period), and the project is scheduled to be completed in December 2033.
The Special Terms for Economic Partnership (STEP), which aim to transfer Japan's advanced technology to developing countries, apply to this yen loan, and it is expected to use Japanese companies' strengths in construction and civil engineering technology, airport-related equipment, and environmentally friendly "eco-airport" technology.
Key points
- A project to further expand an airport that was built with a Japanese yen loan and is also operated with Japanese companies
- For landlocked Mongolia, which has no sea coast, air routes are an important gateway to the world
- With STEP conditions that make use of Japanese technology, eco-airport technology and more are expected to be used
Why we are paying attention to this news
Mongolia is a landlocked country surrounded by China and Russia, with no seaports. The airport is therefore an important window through which people and goods connect with the world. Increasing the capacity of the passenger terminal and cargo handling will also contribute to the country's overall economic development through the growth of tourism and business.
A yen loan is financial cooperation that must be repaid, and it supports a partner country's large-scale infrastructure with low interest rates and long repayment periods. It shows one form of international cooperation, an example of Japan's ODA (official development assistance) supporting a single airport over a long period, from construction to operation and now expansion.
Editor's comment
This project clearly shows a form of cooperation that stays beside its partner over a long time horizon: it does not end with construction, but continues through operation after opening and supports expansion when demand grows. For people visiting Mongolia, it is also an everyday result of international cooperation.
ODA has many slightly difficult terms, such as yen loan and STEP, but JICA's announcement carefully summarizes the purpose and mechanism of the project. If you are interested in cooperation with Mongolia, please read the original announcement too.