By F. Zois
[email protected]
A forecast date for beginning construction of a new airport at the Kastelli site, in Crete's Irakleio prefecture, is June 2018, with the new facility expected to replace the current Nikos Kazantzakis airport. The latter serves one of the most important tourism regions in the country.
According to an announcement by Ariadne Airport Group consortium, which has won the tender to build the new airport, a final concession contract with the Greek state is expected to be signed in the first three months of the year. The consortium is comprised of Athens-based Terna and India's GMR Airports Ltd., which has a 10-percent stake.
Ariadne is set to build and operate the new airport for 37 years after completion.
So far, the project has been bedeviled with ubiquitous Greek bureaucratic hurdles and legal delays.
A winning bid by the consortium for the concession reached 480 million euros.
