At least $300 million of investment is required to turn an airport in Khabarovsk into Russia`s Far Eastern hub, the regional governor said Thursday.
The airport should become Russia`s only hub in the vast region. It has been included in a list of terminals as part of a national strategy to modernize civilian airports and fleets in 2008-2020. The project is also part of flagship air carrier Aeroflot`s plans to consolidate Far Eastern airlines into one company.
Khabarovsk Region Governor Viktor Ishayev said the concept prepared by Alyans Prom - which owns 100% in the terminal - along with U.S.` Simat, Helliesen & Eichner, estimates that passenger traffic would increase from the current 850,000 to 2 million by 2016.
Ishayev said the project would be implemented in several phases. In the first phase in 2007-2010, the domestic flight terminal and refueling points would be modernized. The second stage, 2010-2016, envisions the construction of a new passenger terminal, a multimode logistics center, and a business center.
"The main problem hampering the plans is ownership," Ishayev said, adding a commission planned to resolve the issue in the next few weeks.
The airport in Khabarovsk, located near the border with China, is run by two companies. Alyans owns the cargo terminal, passenger terminals, and refueling points, whereas Dalavia, a 100% state-owned carrier, has a fleet of 30 liners, runways, air navigation facilities, a maintenance center, and an international terminal with a passenger capacity of 2,000 per hour.
Transportation Minister Igor Levitin was reported to have proposed stripping Dalavia, which has been criticized for inefficiency, of its land support and maintenance functions.
But Aeroflot, entangled in the hub project that falls in line with its plans to create a united Far Eastern airline, is opposed to the idea, although it agrees that the runways and navigation equipment - which cannot be privatized under Russian law - could be transferred to a state body.
Both the state and private investors are expected to finance the hub project.
sections: Society, Region News regions: Far East region |