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New international airport terminal is nearly completed
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The new construction of Juan SantamarÃa airport will be able to handle 12 million passengers a year, about four times the current flow.
Transportation officials have extrapolated the passenger arrivals and departures at the airport and figure that the new terminal will reach its capacity in 2030.
The airport was in the news Wednesday because President Óscar Arias Sánchez visited to see the work that has been completed. The work represents a $30 million investment, and the visit Wednesday highlighted the end of the first step. That was the construction of a new terminal building.
This is the terminal the international travelers will use. It is 9,000 square meters in three levels. That's about 96,900 square feet. Of interest to expat air travelers is that the immigration booths have been increased 60 percent to 28 positions (hooray!). These are on the first floor.
The old airport has long been considered a bottleneck in international travel, as Arias noted in his visit. Arias leaves office in 10 days.
The terminal's second level has the security entrances and x-ray machines. There also are commercial areas and offices of state agencies and the airport police.
The new terminal is more than four years behind schedule (muy tico). The former concession holder at the airport, Alterra Partners, ran into financial trouble and Aeris Holding Costa Rica S. A., a local manifestation of Houston Airport Systems, bought out the concession. The new firm was able to borrow $45 million to complete the first stage.
The Alterra saga was a long, politically charged one. Construction was frozen for a time because Alterra ran out of money.
Not all the first stage work is finished, but there was enough for Arias to take credit for himself and his administration. The rest of the first-state work should be done next month.
The new terminal also has more counter space for airline companies.
The second stage includes new boarding areas. Stages three and four include a new domestic terminal and a new cargo handling facility.
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