Turkmen civil aviation began in 1927, the year air communications began between Çärjew and Da?howuz, flying through the settlements of To?rtko?l and Novo-Urgench (both in the Uzbek SSR). For this route, four-passenger Junkers F.13 aircraft were purchased in Germany, as well as Soviet four-passenger Kalinin K-4 aircraft. Eight aircraft served this airline. Later, in 1932, newer Soviet aircraft were purchased for the transport of passengers. The Kalinin K-5 aircraft seated six, and the Tupolev ANT-9 aircraft had twelve seats. With this replenishment of the Turkmen SSR air fleet, in 1932 an air division was formed at Çärjew Airport that directly served the Çärjew-Da?howuz route, without stops in other settlements. The first airport building in Ashgabat was built in 1932, and at the end of 1934 two air units were formed there: one was equipped with Po-2 aircraft (for agricultural use), and the other consisted of TB-3 aircraft (for cargo transportation) . In 1935, was opened Ashgabat-Da?howuz airline route. In 1944, Turkmen SSR air fleet was replenished with the Li-2 aircraft, which transported passengers and mail from Ashgabat to Moscow via Baku, Astrakhan and Volgograd. From 1946, Soviet aircraft Ilyushin Il-12, Il-14, An-2, Yak-12 began to be used on airlines. In the 1950s, Tu-104, Tu-114, Il-18, and An-24 aircraft appeared in the Turkmen SSR's fleet. Powerful airliners made it possible to connect Ashkhabad by air lines with the largest cities of the USSR, the capitals of the union republics. In 1935, was opened Ashgabat-Da?howuz airline route. In the 1980s, the civil aviation of the Turkmen SSR had the Tu-154, Yak-40, Yak-42, An-24, An-26 aircraft. Ashgabat Airport has modern radio and radar equipment that allows it to receive aircraft at any time of the day and under adverse weather conditions. As part of Saparmyrat Nyýazow's aspiration to transform Turkmenistan into 'the new Kuwait', he sought to construct a distinctive airport. This zeal resulted in the control tower being constructed on the wrong side of the runway. The 'gaudy new terminal' blocked the view of air traffic controllers as they guided pilots. The builders warned him of this, however he responded: "It looks better this way." The building was dismantled in 2013. On 26 March 2014, a small passenger Terminal was opened. The terminal is located on the site of a pre-existing Turkmen SSR airport (behind the bus station) on 2013 Street (Cosmonaut Boulevard). For the period of construction of the main passenger terminal the temporary terminal served passengers departing from and arriving to Ashgabat. After commissioning of the main terminal in 2016, the terminal was used for domestic routes and charter flights, and is currently used as a cargo storage facility. The Turkmen government let an international tender in 2012 for reconstruction of the airport in Ashgabat, to be named "Oguz Han". Polimeks, a Turkish construction company active in Turkmenistan since the late-1990s, was declared winner of the tender. Polimeks commissioned the Dutch aviation consultancy NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) to develop the basic design of the new terminal, with Marc Ibelings of Ibelings van Tilburg Architecten serving as project architect. The new airport was opened on 17 September 2016 by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow. The project cost $2.3 billion (€1.7 billion) and features a highly unusual terminal design in the shape of a falcon. The new airport has capacity to serve 14 million passengers per year at a rate of 1,600 passengers per hour.