Construction work on Zagreb’s brand new terminal is now on course to begin this September after operator Zagreb Airport International Company secured all necessary finances for the multi million euro project. The European Investment Bank will provide a 120 million euro loan while Zagrebačka Bank and Erste Bank will provide an additional 65 million euros. Zagreb Airport International Company, which is headed by Aéroports de Paris, has logged a request for construction permits to be issued so work on the much awaited and needed terminal can finally begin. Permits are expected to be approved within the next month after which the search for contractors can begin. Foreign construction companies are most likely to carry out the work on the terminal, with media speculating a Turkish company will work on the structure while a Belgian company will carry out work on the façade.

 Once construction of the new terminal begins, it must be completed within 1.095 days (three years). The airport’s owners anticipate that the new state of the art facilities will turn Croatia’s busiest hub into a regional powerhouse and a transit point within the Balkans. The price tag of the project’s first phase will amount to 236 million euros, while the thirty year concession fee adds up to 1.9 billion euros. The concession contract signed between the Croatian government and the French operator outlined that construction of the new terminal would begin on April 11, 2013 at the latest.

 Zagreb Airport is operating at full capacity as passenger numbers continue to rise. In the first four months of the year the airport welcomed 628.171 passengers through its doors – an all time record. With the country entering the European Union on July 1, a passenger surge is widely expected in the coming months. The construction of Zagreb’s second terminal will not in any way affect passengers using Croatia’s busiest airport and is expected to be operational by the end of 2016.

Source: balkans.com