May 11 (SeeNews) - Romania's Iasi county council said it has signed a 447.3 million lei ($95 million/ 90 million euro) contract with the local arm of Austria's Strabag for the construction of a fourth terminal at Iasi International Airport.
The construction of the new terminal, which will have a capacity of over 3.3 million passengers per year, should be completed in December 2023, Iasi county council said in a press release on Tuesday.
"Traffic figures for the last two months show that the existing terminals can no longer cope with the flow of passengers, and that the expansion of the infrastructure is an urgent need. At the end of next year we will have a new airport, up to European standards, which will bring a new perspective and change the face of the whole city," Iasi International Airport general manager Romeo Vatra said.
This first stage of the project involves reconfiguring access roads to the airport and increasing the capacity of the ground car parking from 350 to 500 spots. The construction of a photovoltaic park is also included in the project.
In the first two months of the year, over 260,000 passengers embarked on flights from Iasi airport, in eastern Romania.
Strabag has been operating in Romania since 1991 and employs over 1,500 people in the country.
On Monday, Galati county's council president Costel Fotea said Romania's Civil Aeronautical Authority has approved a project for the construction of an international airport in Galati, also in eastern Romania. According to local media reports, the estimated investment in the airport could exceed 200 million euro ($211 million).
Romania currently has 16 airports, of which 15 handle international flights.
(1 euro=4.9479 lei)