Tirana Airport Plans New Terminal

Tirana's Mother Teresa Airport | Photo by : Edmond Habazaj

“Planning for the expansion will begin in 2012 and will be completed in the following year,” the airport announced in a statement on Thursday, noting that the new terminal is expected to cost seven million euros.

The new expansion phase of Albania’s only international airport follows the steady growth in passenger numbers in over the past year.

“2011 was a generous year for the airport, with a growth of 18 per cent with 1.8 million passengers,” said Mother Theresa Airport’s Director of Operations Rolf Castro Vasquez.

Currently, 13 airlines fly in and out of Tirana, connecting the Albanian capital directly with 30 destinations.

Tirana International Airport is a limited liability company set up by Hochtief Airport GmbH, Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft and the Albanian-American Enterprise Fund.

The company was granted a 20-year owner-operator concession by the Albania government in 2005, in the first public-private partnership in the country’s history.