The preparation of the airport terminal in Pardubice has progressed again

source: Pardubice Region

Pardubice - The airport in Pardubice may prepare for the construction of a new terminal for 250 million crowns. The second major shareholder, the Pardubice Region, also agrees. This was reported by the spokesperson of the regional council Jakub Rychtecký.
    Construction could begin in the summer. In the future, the airport could handle up to a quarter of a million people annually. Last year, more than 180,000 passengers passed through the terminal. The number of passengers has thus increased by nearly half year-on-year.
    "We are preparing a bank loan. Three banks remain in the game, with whom we are negotiating the best terms," said the head of East Bohemian Airport (EBA) Jan Andrlík.
    The EBA company is owned one third by the region and two thirds by the city. In mid-April, the airport operator will likely announce a tender for the construction of the terminal. Meanwhile, the city and regional councilors must approve the bank loan in the first half of the year.
    While both shareholders agree on the terminal construction, they do not want to support the construction of a road costing around 50 million crowns, for example, by guaranteeing a loan. According to Andrlík, however, the road is necessary. The current transportation connection to the airport is insufficient with the growing interest of passengers.
    "It will be very difficult; our company will bear the entire burden of the terminal loan. We are somewhat calculating that we will manage to secure a more favorable price for the terminal and thus create a financial reserve for the construction of the road," said Andrlík.
    The international airport in Pardubice began operations in May 1995 and has offered flights to St. Petersburg and Moscow since 2007. Russian passengers bring the most revenue to the airport. They make up the majority of boarded passengers, while the rest are people flying to tourist destinations during the summer season.
    The airport has already modernized part of its operations in the past. With the help of European subsidies, it completed repairs to the fuel infrastructure and taxiways and connecting runways for more than 250 million crowns two years ago.