Yuzhny Airport construction underway
Published on 13/11/2014
Construction has begun on the new Yuzhny International Airport in Russia's Rostov region, which will help to deal with the influx of visitors to the country in 2018, when the next World Cup takes place.
At a groundbreaking ceremony, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov noted that the facility will be Russia’s first new airport built in the post-Soviet period, and as such will represent a chance for the country's building sector to shine.
Vast improvement
The airport and larger complex will cost around 37 billion rubles to build and will be handled by Rostovaeroinvest, a joint venture of the Regional Airports holding and the Rostov regional administration, which is aiming to create a hub worthy of welcoming fans to the country.
It will be located four kilometers away from the village of Grushevskaya in the Aksai district of the Rostov region and have a passenger terminal floor area of around 100,000 square meters.
The first phase - with a floor area of 50,000 square metres - should be completed by 2017, and replace the current Rostov-on-Don airport, which is set to be closed and integrated into the surrounding urban environment.
Looking to the future
Rostov-on-Don Airport opened 89 years ago and has a passenger terminal area of 17,000 square metres, which is deemed insufficient to cope with anticipated demand.
Similarly, the the runway length is just 2,600 metres and it is surrounded by a residential area, meaning there is little space for further development.
Last year, the airport - which is also managed by Regional Airports - handled 2.2 million passengers; far below the eight million passengers that the new Yuzhny Airport will be able to accommodate each year.
Fit for purpose
The new airport will also have a 3,600 metre runway that will be certified for all main aircraft types, and an interior that uses the finest available materials to create a suitably luxurious experience for all passengers who travel through it, explained Mr Sokolov.
"We are beginning the construction of a new airport today. A beautiful airport provided with the necessary airfield infrastructure will stand here by the football World Cup.
"We haven't started the construction of a new airport from scratch for years, and this facility is important to the entire country."
It is hoped that the airport will be able to welcome passengers from 2017, when Russia hosts the Confederations Cup, which traditionally acts as the warm-up to the World Cup the following year.