Split airport to get new passenger terminal

In slightly more than two years Split Airport will have an upgraded and expanded passenger terminal and that project, worth HRK 455 million, was presented at the airport on Thursday, with Transport Minister Sinisa Hajdas Doncic in attendance.

The minister said that this was yet another major investment in Split County, along with a project to build a bridge connecting the island of Ciovo with the mainland and a ring-road at Kastela.

He said that the airport management had worked on the project documentation for two and a half years, adding that he hoped the building permit would be obtained in July.

"The funding has been secured from own sources in the amount of HRK 130 million, and the rest will be financed with loans to be granted by development banks without government guarantees. There is no reason why the project should not be completed in two and a half years, resulting in a revamped airport that will have a capacity of more than 2 million passengers annually, a figure expected to be achieved in 2017/2018," said Hajdas Doncic.

The project envisages expanding the terminal area by 34,500 square metres and its capacity to 3.5 million passengers annually.

The parking area for buses and cars will be expanded by 35,500 square metres.

The investment will improve the quality of services for passengers and ensure the application of EU standards for international border crossings in line with the Schengen agreement.

Airport director Luksa Novak said that the number of passengers in 2014 exceeded 1.7 million, the highest passenger turnover in the airport's history and an increase of 11% from the previous year.

Split Airport, called Resnik, is right after Zagreb Airport in terms of the number of passengers.

The airport's revenues in 2014 exceeded HRK 245 million, up 14% from 2013, and its gross profit was HRK 64 million.

Novak said that 50 airlines flew to and from Split, operating flights between 100 destinations.

He said the airport expected the number of passengers to increase to two million by 2016/2017.

Asked by reporters about an operating licence for hydroplane services, Hajdas Doncic said that the Split Port Authority was in charge of that and that this year hydroplanes would fly not only from Split Airport but also from the Split city port and connect Jelsa on the island of Hvar and Korcula, on the island of Korcula.


(Hina)