Debrecen Airport due to open by the end of the year

Published: 2/21/2000

The new Debrecen Airport, a former Soviet air base, is expected to open before the end of this year provided the talks between the Debrecen City Council and Lockheed Martin are concluded successfully, according to the the local press. The area around Debrecen, which is 230kms east of Budapest, has attracted considerable investment from foreign investors in the last two years, with one US investor planning to invest $80m in a circuit- board plant. The requirement for air transport has therefore risen considerably, given the distance to Budapest and Vienna. The government is also keen to encourage infrastructure development in the relatively under-developed east of the country. According to the local mayor Lajos Kosa, the airport has some charter traffic, but expects a marked increase in volume if the airport becomes a regional centre. Last year the airport received 1200 visitors from Tel Aviv, but the city government, which acquired the base in 1994, believes that with proper facilities, the airport could have accommodated 15,000. A previously reported deal to sell the airport to a Turkish company, Begendik, fell through at the end of last year. Associated articles: www.concise.org 7th May 1999;28th July 1999

Article ID: 1452