New airport work ahead of schedule

THOUSANDS of square metres of land have already been cleared for the new Larnaca airport, Transport Minister Harris Thrassou said yesterday.
Thrassou visited the site of the new airport to check on the progress and inaugurate the new road network linking the airport to the outside world.
Work on the airport project started last June.

Currently, workers are engaged in clearing the area for the road network with the existing roads to and from Larnaca.

The new airport is expected to be finished near the end of 2009.
“We are two months ahead of schedule,” said Thrassou, adding that if things continued as they were now, the new airport could be delivered earlier than expected.

The area of the building to be constructed during the first phase will be 95,000 square metres and will serve 7.5 million passengers a year. The second phase would increase the area to 112,000 square metres with a capacity of nine million passengers a year.

The total cost, including construction plans and provision for future extension, comes to around 643 million euros.

The project is being carried out under the Build Operate Transfer (BOT) system, where the private investor Hermes will construct the airport and run it for 25 years.

Under the agreement, the government will receive 33 per cent of the gross income from the company and an additional 3.5 million euros every year.

Thrassou said £11 million had been spent up to now on the road connections, which includes a 3.2 kilometre four lane road with traffic islands, pavements and modern lighting, the extension of the highway by one kilometre, and a bridge for passengers to reach the new terminal building.

“The new road network that we inaugurate now will serve to connect the new airport with the highway, the city and the wider region of Larnaca,” said Thrassou. “It will also upgrade the connections between the western regions of Larnaca and the city centre.”

Inside the new airport, there will be parking for 2,235 cars, 100 buses and 212 taxis.

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