The Hindu — GMR Airports Ltd (GAL)bid for the development, operation and management of the new international airport of Heraklion at Kasteli on Crete was the only one received by the Greek government by the end of the deadline for offers, which was extended twice.
GMR said the project involves design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of the airport for a concession period of 35 years. The bid was submitted in association with its partner GEK Terna Group of Greece, a company with construction mining waste management and energy interests.
GMR’s subsidiary, GMR Infrastructure Ltd, will be the airport operator.
It is mandatory, under the bid conditions, for the operator to hold a minimum of 10 per cent equity stake in the consortium. Greek infrastructure company, GEK Terna has presence in construction, energy,
Greece receives more than 24 million tourists every year and Crete is the largest and most visited island.
The idea of a new airport at Kasteli was first proposed in 1986 by then-Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou.
The creation of the new airport will require new road-, water- and sanitation works, as well as the transfer of settlements located within the proposed runway zone (Archangelos, Roussochoria). The construction of a 17 km road will connect the airport with the National Road along the north coast of Crete, in the neighbourhood of Hersonisos.
The new airport will be constructed over an area of 600 hectares, adjacent to the current military airport in Kasteli. It will have a runway 3,800 metres long, to accommodate larger aircraft than can presently be operated into Heraklion airport. An additional area of 22 hectares is reserved for commercial activity south-west of the new airport.
The existing airport at Heraklion will be closed and an area of 278 hectares there will be returned to local communities for a large urban regeneration plan.
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