EIB approves a loan for a new passenger terminal

The increasingly busy Zagreb airport, the all-important gateway for international travellers arriving and sojourning in Zagreb or elsewhere in Croatia, as well as the key regional hub, should see a major expansion in the near future as the necessary financing for a new passenger terminal has been approved by the European Investment Bank.

In mid-March, the European Investment Bank approved a 120-million-euro loan to Zagreb airport, the most important airport in Croatia and the entire region, thereby financing the design and construction of a new passenger terminal. According to EIB, the loan will provide additional capacities for alleviating the existing traffic jams and facilitate the handling of the increased turnover expected in the future. The project will help increase Croatia’s competitiveness as a future EU member state. This is also the first concession-type project supported by the EIB. It is expected to be financed through innovative public/private partnership – a model that is being implemented on a national level.

A year ago, the Croatian government and the French consortium Zagreb Airport International Company (ZAIC) signed a contract thereby giving ZAIC a 30-year concession to develop and manage the newly-built terminal and its infrastructure.

The construction of the new terminal will begin this September. The works are expected to be completed by April 2016. The new terminal will be able to handle 5 million passengers annually, 3 million more than now.