Contract Signed For New Crete Airport

Greece's Minister of Infrastructure and Transport has signed a concession contract for the construction of a new airport on the island of Crete.

Ariadne Airport Group, a consortium of Greek construction firm GEK Terna and India’s GMR Airports, was named last year as the contractor to build and operate the new airport at the Kastelli military airfield near Heraklion.

The Ariadne group will have a 54 percent stake in the project, with Greece the remaining 46 percent.

GEK Terna will build the airport, with 1,500 jobs expected to be created during the construction period and 7,000 when it is operational. The construction phase is budgeted to cost EUR€480 million (USD$545 million).

The contract is subject to parliamentary and competition authority approval.

The new Kastelli Airport will have a 3.2 km runway and is expected to handle more than seven million passengers a year when it replaces the existing Heraklion Airport in 2023.