Butković: These are Croatia’s doors to the world, we will no longer be ashamed when people come to us

The new passenger terminal of Zagreb International Airport (MZLZ) will be completed by the end of this year and put into operation in the first quarter of 2017, officials announced on Tuesday during a site visit to the terminal construction site.

– What we have seen is truly impressive, I am satisfied. This is definitely one of the largest infrastructure projects today in Croatia, said Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure  Oleg Butković during the visit. He added that the works are progressing very well and that they will be completed by the end of the year, with the terminal being put into operation in  the first half of 2017.

– I am pleased that the airport in Zagreb will be new, representative, and that we will no longer be ashamed when people come to us from around the world. These are Croatia’s doors to the world and in that sense, the image of the capital and Croatia will change, but also the number of people coming to Croatia for tourism, promotional  and economic purposes will increase, said Butković.

He announced an initiative to name Zagreb Airport “dr. Franjo Tuđman” for one of the upcoming government sessions.

The construction site was also visited by Deputy Mayor of Zagreb Vesna Kusin, Mayor of Velika Gorica Dražen Barišić, and Zagreb County Prefect Stjepan Kožić, expressing satisfaction with the progress of the works.

MZLZ Management Board member David Gabelica stated that the new  terminal, worth 313 million euros, spans 65,000 square meters over four levels, with the first two levels designated for arrivals and the other two for departures. The new building will be able to accommodate 5 million passengers in the first phase, and when the number of passengers exceeds that figure, the capacity will increase to 8 million passengers, Gabelica said. In the first phase, there will be 30  check-in counters available with three baggage claim belts, and the new terminal will also have  8 jet bridges for direct entry and exit to the aircraft.

– The new terminal will certainly attract a number of new airlines, which will increase the number of passengers and overall traffic, Gabelica said.

MZLZ has been granted a 30-year concession to the consortium ZAIC, which includes Aeroports de Paris Management, Bouygues Batiment International, TAV Airports, Viadukt, Marguerite Fund, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

Minister Butković also announced a meeting with Chinese investors on Wednesday regarding investments in the Port of Rijeka and the lowland railway Zagreb-Rijeka.

– The fact is that the lowland railway is our interest, and the situation is not good because the Hungarians have definitely opted for the Port of Koper. The Chinese are one of the solutions in this regard, he said.

In response to a journalist’s question about restructuring the debts of Croatian Highways  through the sale of shares to pension funds, the Minister of Transport said he could not comment on something he was not familiar with.

– We must strongly embark on the restructuring of all road companies, reduce their expenses, increase revenues, and go to the capital market to seek refinancing of existing obligations that we cannot service at this moment, Butković reiterated, adding that the potential of pension funds is “very interesting” and should be utilized.