Ljubljana Airport Will Fulfil Schengen Standards
The chairman of airport operator Aerodrom Ljubljana Vinko Moze and the chairman of construction company SCT Ivan Zidar signed a EUR 2.3m contract on the first phase of the construction of a new passenger terminal at the Ljubljana International Airport on Tuesday.
The works will start on Wednesday with the renovation of the existing terminal and the building of a connecting walkway. The first phase, which will allow physical separation of passengers from the Schengen zone and those from outside of it, will be completed by June 2007.
However the first phase of the construction will not improve the passenger services, said Moze. Its aim is to fulfil the Schengen standards.
Transport Minister Janez Bozic emphasised that a few months ago the question whether Slovenia would fulfil the Schengen criteria was still open. "Therefore we are very pleased with the signing of the contract," he said.
"The Airport management started to adapt to the changes in the passenger traffic and to European standards in time," said Zidar, who thinks that the signing of the contract indicates the future development of the airport and is very important for Slovenia.
The existing terminal will be renovated and expanded with 1,500 sq. metres of new surfaces. A new building with 3,500 sq. metres and a 5,000 sq. metre platform with four walkways will also be constructed.
In 2008 the works will continue with the building of a new terminal, which will cost EUR 40m. When finished in 2010 the new terminal, with 38,000 sq. metres and 36 check-in desks, will have the capacity for 850 arriving and as many departing passengers.
The airport is planning EUR 120m worth of investments by 2015. Besides building the new terminal they will move the existing road past the airport, as well as invest into tourism, trade, warehousing and logistics.
The expansion of the runway is also planned, which would increase its capacity for 50%.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|