German company to present restructuring plan for Archangelsk Airport in May

Published: 2/18/2000

Plans for the reconstruction of Arkhangelsk Airport, reported at the end of January, may be coming to fruition with the presentation of a reconstruction/business plan in May 2000 by ASTA GbmH to the regional government. ASTA was established in January of 2000 by former employees of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airport Division, which was recently sold to Honeywell. Honeywell has however,withdrawn from the Russian and CIS market with the exception of airport lighting. According to Martin Stein of DASA"s Moscow office however, the company continues to be closely associated with the programme although the nature of DASA"s involvement is not particularly clear. According to the reports, the initial ASTA proposal is being funded by the region"s administration and the full programme is likely to cost $60m, funded by finance from a number of sources although there appears to be little specific information as to the identity of particular investors. The Russian government is due to grant an additional 6m rubles ($214,000) in 2000, although the funds will be focussed on the maintenance and upgrade of runways, which even if the airport is privatised, must remain in state hands, on flight safety grounds according to local media reports.

Article ID: 1436