February 26 (SeeNews) - Albania's oil-to-construction conglomerate Kastrati Group has increased its planned investment in Tirana airport by 40% from its original commitment to 140 million euro ($151.7 million) by 2040, local media reported.
With new investment in an airstrip for transcontinental airlines, additional parking facilities and upgrades to security equipment, total investment of Kastrati is expected to reach 60 million euro ($65 million) by the end of 2024, local news provider Monitor quoted the chief operating officer of Tirana International Airport (TIA) company, Piervittorio Farabbi, as saying last week.
TIA anticipates handling 9 million passengers in 2024 and aims for 10 million per year by 2026. The rise in passenger numbers at Tirana airport went hand in hand with a 35% increase in foreign tourist arrivals in Albania last year, to 10 million, Farabbi noted.
In 2023, the airport of Tirana served 7.26 million passengers, 40% more than in 2022, the airport operator said earlier.
($ = 0.923 euro)