by
John Ross

Posted by : John Ross on Jun 10, 2008 - 10:50 AM airtravel
In yet another case of politicians' rejoicement being my gloom, the Civil Aviation Department of Spain's Ministry of Development has finally given the go-ahead for the new Corvera Airport in Murcia, and the Murcia government is gleeful. The new airport's promotors have always argued that San Javier Airport is saturated and that its joint operation by Spanish Airport Authority AENA and the Spanish Air Force is untenable. Corvera Airport will be the only private major airport in Spain and has been on the drawing board since 2000, the project having been in the Ministry of Development's in-tray for eight years. Spanish press reports say that, when told the news, Murcia president Ramón Luis Valcárcel exclaimed, "¡Por fin!" ("At Last!").

The civil engineering and construction works for the new airport are expected to last about two years, with an investment of over 260 million euros. If it opens as planned in 2010, it should receive an initial three million passengers a year, compared with San Javier's two million, and some estimates say that it could easily triple tourism in the region when it reaches its capacity of five million. Unlike San Javier, it will be able to operate 24 hours a day, and it will be competitive with Alicante and Almería Airports.

The airport will be built by a local consortium, Aeromur, with the creation of over 19,000 jobs. It will occupy a site of over 300 hectares, with a single, 3-kilometre runway, between Corvera itself, Los Martínez del Puerto and Valladolises. Corvera will not only be thre first private airport but also the only major airport in Spain not run by airport authority AENA. Low-cost carriers have already shown keen interest.

What is more, Corvera will not replace San Javier. On the contrary, AENA has built a second runway there, though it is not yet operational, and a second control tower, further increasing Murcia's traffic capacity.

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John Byrne Subject: Completion date ? posted: Sep 09, 2008

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Can you tell me if work has begun of the Corvera Airport and when is it likely to be operational.

regards,

John
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John Ross posted: Sep 09, 2008
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registered: Apr 22, 2004

I'm pretty sure not. There's a round of meetings with locals planned for this month and next, you know the kind of thing - the authorities say "This is in everyone's interest" when they mean "How much compensation will make you shut up? and the locals protest about the threat to their way of life, meaning "Give us more." The projected opening is still for 2010, do let us know if you hear otherwise - personally, I would be surprised if it were finished before 2011, but that's just a hunch, and with public works in such a slump here, the government might well decide it's worth keeping the impetus up.

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Francesco Lanzalaco Subject: Completion date ? posted: Sep 09, 2008 posted: Oct 13, 2008

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The groundworks and infrastructure works have begun since August..There are site offices now on the road between Corvera and Fuente Alamo..This is definate as my 'Long Term Tenant' is an Engineer working on the project..
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John Ross posted: Oct 13, 2008
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registered: Apr 22, 2004

Have they now? That's interesting. Thanks for the intelligence, Francesco. What's the general local opinion about Corvera Airport? Is it welcome or not?
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