Airport upgrade going smoothly

THE GOVERNMENT says the expansion of Larnaca Airport is making excellent progress, and is confident the first phase of the project will be completed early next year.

The new five million pound complex consists of an upgraded control tower and improved facilities for the fire brigade.

“The existing tower is inadequate because it is too low and provides only limited visibility, ” said Stelios Vassiliou, the Chief Transport Officer for the Civil Aviation Department. “It is difficult to see the planes parking in the aerodrome at present and we are having to rely on closed circuit television, which is far from ideal.”

The second phase of the development involves the creation of a new terminal, which will replace the current facility. The airport is now running to its maximum capacity and the government recognises that even from an aesthetic point of view there is room for improvement.

“We want to provide the best quality of service possible for passengers, because obviously tourism is the most profitable sector of our economy.

“What we have now is okay, but we can definitely do better. We want first class, state of the art facilities.”

Similar progress is taking place at Paphos, where again a new control tower is being built as the first phase of larger developments.

Vassiliou points out that the two new airports may help Cyprus in its application for entry into the European Union. However work on Larnaca’s new terminal is not expected to begin until 2002 and it is unlikely to be completed before 2004.

The scheme, which will eventually cost in excess of 150 million pounds, will be financed under a Build Operate Transfer initiative.

The Civil Aviation Department is in the process of preparing a tender for consultants

When completed it will be published internationally, inviting people to place their bids.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.