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By Ewa Kielak Ciemniewska
The Frédéric Chopin International Airport in Warsaw is being expanded-a new, second passenger terminal is under construction with a capacity of 6.5 million passengers a year. Together with the existing Terminal 1, the target capacity of the Warsaw airport is 10 million passengers. According to the Polish-Spanish consortium dealing with the project and involving Ferrovial Agroman, Budimex and the Lamela design studio, the new terminal will be opened in April 2006. Prior to that, however, Warsaw will gain a different, new airport.
In December, the Military Property Agency (AMW) and the Polish Airports State Enterprise (PPL) signed an agreement concerning a joint project to open a public airport for budget airlines and charter and cargo flights. The airport will be situated on a former military airfield in Modlin, around 40 km northwest of Warsaw. The partners have announced that the first planes will most likely land in Modlin at the beginning of this year's summer vacation. All parties involved in the project, the AMW, PPL and local authorities, are vitally interested in opening the airport on the scheduled date. The AMW is preparing the area, land surveying is nearing completion, as are documentation and other formalities related to the establishment of the company to manage the airport. The local authorities have announced their intent to adjust the transportation network to the airport's needs-apparently, funds for this purpose have already been secured. The new airport will require modernization and repairs of the runways and the construction of a passenger terminal. "We want to complete everything before the planned date and, which is no secret, at the lowest possible cost, but observing all standards regarding the needs of budget airline passengers," said Jerzy Rasilewicz, AMW president. "The most fund-consuming element will definitely be the flight safety infrastructure and the communications system."
The AMW received the military airfield in Modlin a few years ago on the condition it would be used for aviation-related purposes. The new airport will cover 300 ha, another 300 will be available for further development. "We are open to all proposals and any kind of activities connected to the future airport, such as tourist infrastructure with hotels," Rasilewicz said. "After all, it is only a half-hour's drive from Warsaw."
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