EXPANSION OF LARNACA AIRPORT

Larnaca Airport was hastily developed in 1974 after the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey in the summer of the same year and the enforced closure of Nicosia International Airport. The site on which it was built had been previously used as an airfield by the British in the 1930′s. The airport opened in February 1975 as a prefabricated set of buildings comprising a departures and arrivals hall and a control tower. The first airline to use the new airport was Cyprus Airways which operated Viscount 800s leased from British Midland. The initial runway was too short for jet aircraft. Cyprus Airways pre-existing fleet of Hawker Siddeley Trident 1 and 2s had been destroyed on the ground at Nicosia Airport by Turkish Air Force bombings. The second operator to start flights to Larnaca was Olympic Airways using NAMC YS-11s.

Larnaca Airport is often used as a hub by passengers traveling between Europe and the Middle East, and Cyprus’s status as a major tourist destination means that numbers have steadily risen to over 5 million passengers a year. This is double the capacity the airport was first designed for. As such, a tender was put out in 1998 to develop the airport further increasing its capacity. Already completed elements of the expansion include a new control tower, fire station, runway extension, and additional administrative offices. The surrounding road network was improved by upgrading the B4 road and by completing the A3 Motorway.

A new Junction has been constructed near to the new Terminal. The Terminal itself will be rebuilt some 500-700m West of current facilities, adjacent to the new control tower, with new aprons and jet ways. The old Terminal building is to be partially demolished and refurbished as a cargo centre.

The Concept Architectural design was developed by French Architects at Aéroports de Paris with SOFREAVIA in France. Detail and Tender design was carried out in Cyprus with local Architectural Office FORUM ARCHITECTS and a large engineering team under the coordination of ADP. A large amount of controversy spurred by the local media surrounded the granting of the contract when it was put out to tender. A consortium led by BAA and J&P construction quickly pulled out when it did not receive assurances from the Cypriot Government that it would receive financial compensation in the event that Direct Flights were allowed between the Turkish occupied north of the island and the rest of the world. The contract was eventually hastily granted to the next best bidder, the French led ‘Hermes’ Consortium. This too, was not free of controversy, causing legal challenges by BAA and J&P, adding further delays to the project.

A €650m upgrade of Larnaca and Paphos airports has started and represents the first Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project for Cyprus. The international tender was won by Hermes Airports, a French-led group. The consortium is made up of Bouygues Batiment International (22%) Egis Projects (20%), the Cyprus Trading Corporation (a local retail group -10%), Iacovou Brothers (a local contractor-10%), Hellenic Mining (10%), Vancouver Airport Services (10%), Ireland’s Aer Rianta International (10%), Charilaos Apostolides (a local construction company – 5%) and Aeroport Nice (3%).

Hermes is building new passenger Terminals and extending the runways at both airports under a 25-year concession. Larnaca’s first phase (due for completion in 2008) will serve 7.5m passengers a year.The arrivals hall was expanded in February 2006 adding two luggage belts bringing the total up to six, a smoking area, and a larger lounge. This was done as a ‘stopgap’ measure to better enable the airport to handle passengers until a new terminal is completed on a nearby site.

A second phase, due to be completed in 2013, provides for the expansion of the Terminal to cater for 9m passengers a year, and for a 500m runway extension. The design for the new 98,000 m2 Larnaca terminal includes 16 boarding bridges and is intended to reflect the proportions of a medieval aqueduct located in the city.