March 13 (SeeNews) - Serbia's infrastructure minister Zorana Mihajlovic has said she expects the number of passengers handled at Nis airport to increase to 200,000 in 2017, from 124,917 last year.
The government has invested 5 million euro ($5.3 million) in the airport so far, and additional funding will be provided for the construction of a new traffic control tower, Mihajlovic said, according to a press release issued by the government on Friday.
With the investments, the government aims to make Nis a backup airport that could be used if weather conditions at Belgrade Nikola Tesla airport are poor, Mihajlovic added.
The transport ministry said in October that the government plans to invest 6.5 million euro in upgrading the airport in the city in eastern Serbia by 2019. Total government investment in the airport amounted to 4.5 million euro by October 2016.
In November, Serbian media reported that Turkish Cargo, a unit of Turkish Airlines, plans to set up a regional hub at Nis airport.
($ = 0.937677 euro)