The Russian government has announced plans to upgrade the Sochi/Adler airport making it one of Russia’s leading transportation hubs, which will boost Sochi’s bid for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
The winner of the tender on the privatization of the airport terminal will be announced this month and the new owners are expected to invest $78 million by the end of the year to finish the remaining 10 per cent of the terminal.
The newly completed terminal will replace an obsolete building and increase the airport’s capacity to four million passengers a year, compared to the one million it now services, reports Sochi 2014.
The airport’s flight runway will also be upgraded with new lighting equipment and bearing tracks. The budget for the improvements are $120 million and will allow the Sochi/Adler airport to service all types of aircraft including jumbo jets.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 CEO said, “the airport modernization is excellent news for Sochi’s bid. It shows that planned construction projects are moving ahead as scheduled. We firmly believe that Sochi is on its way to becoming an easily accessible, world-class winter sports centre”.
Meanwhile Sochi has been promoting its bid with the Olympiad Cultural Program. The fifth annual “Black Sea” Jazz Festival was held August 17 to 20 with a series of concerts that attracted spectators from all over Russia and beyond.
The 11th annual “Faces of Love” International Film Festival was held August 18 to 27 and featured young talent, experimental cinema and the best of world cinema while the second Annual Russian Festival of Humour “Umora” took place August 26 to 28 attracting about 20 top-rated performers.
