newstodate.aero
Aug 22, 2017 (newstodate): The schedule for a tender process to appoint a concessionaire to manage the commercial activities of Lithuania's three airports has collapsed.
-The plan was to launch the tender in this year's 4th quarter, but this has now been shelved, says Gediminas Almantas, Lithuanian Airports CEO.
-After last year's elecdtion, the new government decided to look into the project to asses potential alternate options, and this means that a assesment process will last anything between six months and a full year and it is at least a fact that the plan for a tender opening in 2017 is out of the question.
-This is indeed most unfortunate as our intentions were to have the issue of a new concessionaire in place and coinciding with the completion of plans for expansion of the terminal capacity at Vilnius Airport to allow for further growth.
-We are today operating Vilnius Airport above the design capacity at 3.5 mio passengers a year. In 2016 we handled a total of 3.8 mio passengers and while we have been out of operation for a month during the runway refurbishment, we will probably end at 3.8 mio passengers in 2017 as well.
-We are thus forced to extend the existing capacity without having the issue of a future conessionaire settled, which is certainly not an ideal situation, says Mr Almantas.
Since July 1, 2014, all three state-owned international airports in Lithuania - Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga - have been under unified management as one Plc, with Gediminas Almantas as CEO.
-The plan was to launch the tender in this year's 4th quarter, but this has now been shelved, says Gediminas Almantas, Lithuanian Airports CEO.
-After last year's elecdtion, the new government decided to look into the project to asses potential alternate options, and this means that a assesment process will last anything between six months and a full year and it is at least a fact that the plan for a tender opening in 2017 is out of the question.
-This is indeed most unfortunate as our intentions were to have the issue of a new concessionaire in place and coinciding with the completion of plans for expansion of the terminal capacity at Vilnius Airport to allow for further growth.
-We are today operating Vilnius Airport above the design capacity at 3.5 mio passengers a year. In 2016 we handled a total of 3.8 mio passengers and while we have been out of operation for a month during the runway refurbishment, we will probably end at 3.8 mio passengers in 2017 as well.
-We are thus forced to extend the existing capacity without having the issue of a future conessionaire settled, which is certainly not an ideal situation, says Mr Almantas.
Since July 1, 2014, all three state-owned international airports in Lithuania - Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga - have been under unified management as one Plc, with Gediminas Almantas as CEO.