Azerbaijan plans new airport in north
A new airport is planned to be constructed in the northern part of Azerbaijan.
Vice President of the Azerbaijani state airline AZAL, Etibar Huseynov, said that geological studies on the territory designated for the construction of the new airport - the seventh one in the country - will begin soon.
«We can say that we have decided on the territory, and geological studies are likely to be conducted in the near future,» Huseynov told Trend news agency, but he did not cite the new airport's location.
Earlier chief architect of the Guba region of Azerbaijan Fikret Gurbanov said that an area in the Khachmaz region and two areas in Guba are among possible options for the new airport's location.
Touching upon the timing of the construction work, Huseynov said that the operations may start following a relevant decision of the country's leadership.
Currently, there are six international airports operating in Azerbaijan, including the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku and the airports in Nakhchivan, Ganja, Lankaran, Zagatala and Gabala.
The proposal for building a seventh airport in the northern regions of the country could be attributed also to the opening of the Shahdagh winter and summer tourism complex in the Gusar region in late 2012.
Within just two months of the Shahdagh ski resort's operation, it attracted over 50,000 tourists, which is a record attendance for tourist facilities in Azerbaijan. Following the closing of the winter season, the hotel located on the territory of the complex temporarily suspended its services, which is associated with the development of the summer concept to be completed in mid-June. In summer, services such as cycling and trips on quad bikes may be offered to the tourists.
Construction of a new airport in the northern part of the country will provide convenient access to foreign tourists for visiting the Shahdagh complex, which will operate year-round.
Speaking about the construction of a new building of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport , Huseynov said that its commissioning will depend on the delivery of equipment and its installation.
By the summer of 2014 the new building of the airport terminal will be put into operation, however, depending on the course of the work, it could happen earlier.
According to Huseynov, currently work is underway under the project. Most of the work on the construction of the building of the airport terminal will be completed within a month.
«By late September, a large workload will be carried out within the project. I think we will handle it,» Huseynov said.
The new airport terminal will serve 3 million passengers per year. The total area of the terminal will be 58,000 square meters. The facility will also have luxury shopping and leisure areas. The four-storey building of the new airport terminal will be constructed in a triangular shape.
18 escalators and 20 passenger elevators will be installed in the building of the terminal. The latest scientific achievements used in international aviation will be applied there. Passenger services in the new airport terminal will comply with high international standards. Application of modern equipment will create conducive conditions for providing the security of flights. The new complex will be able to simultaneously receive eight aircraft.
Currently the Heydar Aliyev International Airport serves approximately 1 million passengers per year.
The airport is located 20 km northeast of the capital Baku and is linked to the city by two modern highways commissioned in 2008 and 2009. Due to its favorable location, it has become a first-choice regional airport for transfer flights between East and West, North and South.
Adapted from Today.az