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22-Jun-2011 12:56 PM

Crete airport tender pushed back for fifth time

Greece's Ministry of Infrastructure has again postponed the deadline for a EUR1 billion tender to construct a new airport on the island of Crete, marking the fifth time the deadline has been pushed back (Airport World, 21-Jun-2011). The latest deadline has been extended to 18-Oct-2011. The original date for the tender was 09-Feb-2010. The Ministry said the tender was pushed back as all interested parties have requested further information to better assess the size and feasibility of the project. The new airport at Kasteli will replace Crete's Heraklion Airport, which has been operating since 1939 and is no longer adequate to handle the island's traffic of more than 2 million passengers p/a. The government expects the project to be completed by 2015 and will be financed by Greece, the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Greek Ministry of Infrastructure: "Undoubtedly the new international airport Kasteli is a large development project on the island. The tender should have been properly prepared. Unfortunately, during regular practice of the previous government had auctioned without even rudimentary preparation. All participants in the tender submitted proposals to reduce unnecessary expenditure and development of the airport in phases." Spokesman. Source: Airport World, 21-Jun-2011.

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