Faraport to Invest in Varna Airport

dnevnik a.m.

A total of EUR 20 million will be pinvested into the airport in Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna, said Andreas Helfer, general executive director of concessionaire Fraport Twin Star Airport Management, which manages also Bourgas airport under a 35-year concession arrangement.

Half of the sum will be spent on the construction of a new passenger terminal, which should get underway within months and will not be affected by the global financial meltdown.

In spite of the crisis the airport operator will not freeze investments or reduce workforce, Helfer pledged.

Traffic at the Varna airport surged 30% in the winter, when only regular flights are run, he added.

Bookings for the 2009 seasons have so far been close to last year’s numbers without any major drop, but one can never be sure what comes next, said the airport’s head Dimitar Kostadinov.

The new terminal should be completed ahead of the 2011 season. The project envisages extension of the platforms and the taxiways to streamline traffic management, to the tune of EUR 2 million.