Does Kazakhstan intend to revise the lease agreement for Baikonur on more favorable terms ?
On the sidelines of the Senate meeting, journalists asked Malik Olzhabekov, Vice Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, whether Kazakhstan intends to revise the Baikonur lease agreement on more favorable terms, because the previous agreement was concluded 50 years ago.
“Why do you consider this agreement unprofitable? The fact is that the cosmodrome itself is a launch inherited from Soviet times. That is, the launch complexes themselves were created for specific launch vehicles. This means that specific launch vehicles can be operated from them. The use of others launch vehicles from these launch complexes is purely technically impossible .
The agreement itself was concluded in 1994 and has been extended several times. Now extended to 2050. At the same time, we do not just renew and act as a tenant. We are actively involved in the activities of the cosmodrome. From a certain moment, we began to monitor the environmental condition during launches , we began to carry out work related to the preparation for launch,” the vice minister said.
According to Malik Olzhabekov, projects are currently being implemented that provide for the involvement of Kazakhstan in launch activities. And if the agreement is not revised, this does not mean that cooperation is not developing.
“Our specialists were involved in the launch preparations and technical activities. In this regard, we are deepening our relationship more into mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.
The cost of rent today is 115 million dollars a year. Accordingly, if we talk about inflation, we must take into account that we pay in dollars, even if in the national currency, then at the current rate. Therefore, in tenge, the price has risen significantly since 1994. $115 million in 1994 and this year are different amounts,” Olzhabekov said.
Earlier, the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry Bagdat Musin commented on the information in the Russian media that “Kazakhstan has imposed a multi-billion dollar arrest on the property of Roscosmos at Baikonur” .
Source: Tengri News