The expanded airport will give a new dimension to the City of Split, Split-Dalmatia County and the Dalmatia region, facilitating passenger flow, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said.
He said this was part of a valuable project of enhancing Croatia's airport infrastructure, recalling that revamped Zagreb and Dubrovnik airports were recently inaugurated and that investments were being made in the Zadar, Brac and Losinj airports.
"Croatia's transport infrastructure in airports is getting a new quality," said Plenkovic. He recalled that the Split terminal was a project begun and wrapped up under his government, that the money was invested by the airport thanks to a Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development loan, and that the contractors were Croatian companies.
The new terminal will facilitate a turnover of 3.3 million passengers and in future annual turnover could reach five million passengers, Plenkovic said.
Split Airport director Luksa Novak said they expected an 8% passenger turnover increase this year in comparison with last year's 3.1 million.
This is a historic event not just for Split Airport but for air transport in Croatia, he said, adding that the new terminal was an "outstanding work of architecture."
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Oleg Butkovic said the realisation of big transport infrastructure projects worth HRK 20 billion would continue and that the bulk of the financing would come from European funds.
Text: Hina