The interest on the long awaited new international airport at Kastelli, Heraklion was revived this week with reports that a works starting date of June 2018 was announced.
Ariadne Airport Group consortium, of Greek group Terna and India’s GMR Airports Ltd has won the tender to build the new airport, and the contract is expected to be signed in the first quarter of 2018 after parliament approves the deal by the end of this year.
Heraklion is one of the busiest tourist destinations in Greece and the existing airport has been operating beyond capacity for several years now. The new airport will be able to to handle more than seven million passengers per year and if all goes according to plan, now that the bureaucratic obstacles and delays that bedraggled plans for the development of a new airport in Crete for over a decade were overcome, the new airport will open in 2022.
Ariadne consortium will operate the new airport for 37 years after completion.
Edited for Apokoronas News
