The long awaited opening of the new terminal and second runway at Malaga International Airport is now in sight. The terminal, which is nearing completion, is expected to be open and operational by next Easter with trial operations due to take place early next year, confirmed Concepcion Gutierrez, the Secretary of State for Transport from the Ministry of Public Works.
An impressive investment of €320 million has been committed to the project, which is expected to bring the airport’s capacity to 30 million passengers per year with the ability to cope with 9,000 passengers per hour – double that of its current capacity. The addition of the new terminal means the airport will be spread over an area of 385,000 square meters, the number of check-in desks will rise to 179, there will be 48 departure gates, 7,500 pieces of luggage will be handled every hour and new car parks will provide for more than 3,500 vehicles.
The second runway is expected to be operational by the end of the year, which will double flight capacity.
The expansion will make Malaga the 3rd largest airport on the Spanish peninsula and comparable to most major European airports. In addition, the surrounding and connecting infrastructure is also being upgraded with modern facilities to access buses and a new railway station connecting Malaga to Fuengirola. New road links joining the A-7 motorway and a new Malaga ring road are in process.
Such infrastructural improvements and the ability to receive much larger numbers to the region is great news for the Costa del Sol and is expected to have an excellent impact on local industries, property and tourism in particular. New air routes are being studied carefully to boost tourism in Andalucía. In addition, it is expected that 150,000 new jobs will be created indirectly.
Source: Sur in English, Typicallyspanish.com, Airflights.co.uk
