Crete: Kastelli Airport Engineer Selected, Works to Begin in Autumn 2018

Impression of Kastelli airport.

Hill International has been selected as the independent engineer set to undertake works on the highly anticipated Kastelli airport project on Crete, which are scheduled to begin in autumn this year pending parliamentary approval.

Listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Philadelphia, Hill International was one of four bidders for the project.

The Ariadne Airport Group – a consortium of Greek construction firm GEK Terna and India’s GMR Airports Limited (GAL) – was awarded the project last year for a concession period of 35 years. According to the terms of the 480-million-euro deal, construction and renovation works on the “new generation” project are set to run over the next five years, with the aim to launch operation in the summer of 2023, replacing the current Nikos Kazantzakis airport in Heraklion.

The new airport, some 35km away from the existing Heraklion International Airport, is expected to initially handle nine million passengers per year.

Works include the construction of a 3.2km-long runway capable of handling commercial aircraft including Airbus A380 jet airliners, a 23-meter parallel taxiway with a provision for the construction of a second taxiway to facilitate independent operation, airside facilities including a cargo terminal building and an apron area capable of initially housing 27 aircraft, 19 passenger gates as well as a commercial area within the main terminal building which will have the capacity to accommodate between 57,500 and 65,000 passengers a day at the start.

At the same time, due to the airport, a number of other key infrastructure projects, including the completion of the so-called north road axis and peripheral roadway networks as well as water and sanitation works are in the pipeline.