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Belarus aims for Chinese loan to expand National Airport Minsk

04 August 2010

MINSK, 3 August (BelTA) – Belarus expects to get a Chinese loan to develop the infrastructure of National Airport Minsk, Vadim Melnik, Director of the Aviation Department of the Transport and Communication Ministry of Belarus, told media on 3 August.

The loan is needed to construct a second runway and a modern transit terminal. At present, the Transport and Communication Ministry and the Aviation Department are preparing a credit application to be submitted to China Exim Bank. “The construction should start in 2011, so that the transit terminal is built by 2014, by the ice hockey world championship,” Vadim Melnik said.

He emphasized the need to construct the new transit terminal. He reminded that National Airport Minst was built during the Soviet times and was designed to service domestic flights. “We need a modern terminal, like the one in Frankfurt, Moscow’s Domodedovo and Vnukovo, from glass and concrete and reasonably priced,” he said. The terminal should be passenger-friendly. It will include rest areas and also a hotel, shops, a cafe, a restaurant, and a casino, he added. The terminal will make the airport more attractive as a transit point.

When asked about the financing of the project, Vadim Melnik said that around $590-600 million will be required to construct the second runway, taxiing areas, aprons, a new transit complex and to reconstruct the old one.

There are also plans to construct a modern center for aircraft maintenance and repair near National Airport Minsk, Vadim Melnik added. “The investors have asked for a delay on this project,” he informed.