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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-07-29
CONTENTS
[01] New Paros airport will give extra boost to a landmark destination
in Greece, PM says
[01] New Paros airport will give extra boost to a landmark destination
in Greece, PM says
The new airport on the island of Paros will further boost a destination
that is already a landmark in all major Greek tourism campaigns,
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday. Addressing a ceremony
officially opening the new Paros airport, Tsipras noted that the island
was a beautiful spot in the heart of the Cyclades island group and also
at the heart of the Greek economy's driving force, the tourism industry.
The hardest part of the project had been its final stage, the building
of the new terminal, which had to be completed in time for the summer
season and was carried out in the space of 102 days, he noted. Now,
in spite of Greece's economic difficulties, there was a terminal able
to to serve the needs of a modern airport, Tsipras said.
He also held up the new airport as an example of what can be achieved
when local people get behind something and there is good cooperation
between the state and private sector. The project will financially benefit
the state, which will no longer have to pay 4.2 million euros a year to
subsidise the low-traffic lines, while there will also be a benefit from
the increase in passenger traffic since more than 300 people a day will
be able to book cheap tickets in order to reach Paros. Among others,
he announced that the savings from the new airport will allow two new
helicopters for emergency airlifts.
The prime minister thanked the local community and the ordinary citizens
that contributed to the completion of the project, adding that the
benefits from the airport will allow its expansion and completion, with
the installation of additional equipment. He noted that the terminal
facilities will be doubled in size by the end of the year to reach 5,000
square metres, followed by an extension of the runway that will allow
Paros to establish direct links with major European urban centres.
Tsipras went on to announce a plan to redesign and reorganise ferry
routes to all Greek islands, while at the same time promoting seaplane
bases throughout the Aegean in order to boost tourism. The number of
visitors to the island was expected to increase by 150,000 a year and
the tourist season to be extended, the prime minister added.
Lastly, he noted that the state had an obligation to show sensitivity
to the issues affecting islands and needs to implement a programme for
the reconstruction of the social state and its structures, especially
on islands. He ended by noting that the new airport had only one owner,
the islanders themselves, and not any government or minister.
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