With 5.6 million passengers in the last six months, Malaga Airport cannot wait any longer for its new expansion plan to get off the ground. To solve the serious overcrowding problem the central Government has brought forward the time scheme for the different stages of the “Plan Director” which was approved by the previous government in 2001 and has now been rendered obsolete.
The Minister of Development, Magdalena Álvarez was in Malaga on Monday to launch the ambitious programme named “Plan Malaga” which should be complete by 2010, five years before the envisaged completion date of its predecessor, the “Plan Director”. The second runway and the new terminal building are the two most significant projects within the expansion scheme, which is to be divided into two phases.
The first phase should be finished by 2008. By then the airport will have its new terminal building, practically doubling the existing 85 check-in desks and providing 28 new boarding gates, thus enabling it to cope with some 9,000 passengers an hour instead of the present 4,500.
However to prevent the airport from reaching saturation point in the mid-term, before the summer of 2006 Aena will renovate the old T1 terminal, increasing its number of check-in desks from eight to 20 and the number of gates from two to four. Similarly, to ease congestion before the new runway comes into service (by 2010 or earlier says the Government), two new fast exits will be added to the existing two on the old runway and the take-off waiting area will be improved.
According to Ramón Bustos, the Airport Authority (Aena) Director of Infrastructure, these provisional measures will bring the hourly operation figure up to 45 from 36. With the second runway this capacity will go up to 75 take-offs or landings an hour.
The first phase also includes the construction of two new platforms for the parking of aircraft using the new terminal, the renewal of the airport’s electrical system, a new aeronautical activities zone and the new north and south access roads. The Minister added that an agreement has been reached between Aena and the Roads Authority for the airport’s north access to eventually link with the future second ring road.
Before the new south access and the second runway can be built the local railway line will have to be taken underground. Passengers using this service will be able to access the new terminal directly.
As far as the second runway is concerned, the main project in the second phase, Magdalena álvarez was confident that work will be finished by the end of 2009. The Ministry should have the basic plans ready by the end of the year permitting the expropriation process and the environmental impact report to get under way. All being well work should start in 2007.
The orientation of the second runway will be designed so as to reduce noise pollution for residents in Guadalmar as much as possible.
Courtesy of Sur in English
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