Estimates show that in three-four years, the Chisinau International Airport will have more than 5 million passengers who will fly from and to Chisinau, but the infrastructure that is currently available at the Airport is not enough to cope with such a large number of passengers. In this regard, the possibility of building a new terminal and improving the runways is being considered, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu stated at an international conference on aviation held in Chisinau, IPN reports.

The minister said that the current infrastructure of the Airport can meet the needs of 3.5 million to a maximum of 4.2 million passengers per year. “Last year, we had 2.4 million passengers flying from the Chisinau Airport. Our figures now show that at the end of the year, we will have between 3.2 million and 3.4 million passengers. It’s a huge increase for the Airport. If we look at all the parking lots, the infrastructure and terminals at the Airport, we will see that they are not enough for such a number of passengers,” noted the official.

Andrei Spînu voiced hope that a feasibility study for improving the Airport’s infrastructure will be carried out by the end of the year. “We have an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank, and we will start a feasibility study this year and hope that by the end of the year, we will already have the feasibility plan for improving the infrastructure of the Airport,” he said.

The minister also said that when it comes to the infrastructure development of the Airport, it is necessary to take into account the financial part – who will assume all the modernization costs, the construction companies that will deal with the rehabilitation and, most importantly, who will manage this airport. “On the one hand, we can have the best infrastructure, we can have the best technologies, but if we do not have the best people, with international experience in airport management, in this case we will not succeed,” he noted.

Andrei Spînu added that since the country’s leadership took over the Airport, the main runway, taxiways have been restored, parking spaces have been put up. Currently, work is underway to modernize the electricity supply system and attract companies that could invest in Moldova. In the recent years, about ten airlines decided to restore the routes or launch new routes to Chisinau.