A ribbon-cutting ceremony conducted on Friday, May 12, 2017 in Konavle by Oleg Butković, Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Gabrijela Žalac, Minister of Regional Development and EU Funds, and Roko Tolić, Director of Dubrovnik Airport, signified the formal opening of the new Dubrovnik Airport passenger terminal worth more than 476 million HRK.
The interior of the new terminal is decorated with water polo players sculptures, which, as director Tolić pointed it out, “symbolizes that Dubrovnik unites culture, sport and economy, and that the construction of the terminal is merely the first step, since recently a contract on the financing of the second phase of the project for the reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport has been made”. He congratulated all the cooperators on finishing the terminal building timely, promptly, within the financial framework, and thanked the Government of the Republic of Croatia and the ministers present. He also highlighted the fact that April had been a record-breaking month in the history of Dubrovnik Airport by the number of passengers, and that a record-breaking summer season was expected.
Minister Butković stressed that the opening of the new terminal would create a new opportunity for tourism growth, and that the realization of the project clearly confirmed that the Government worked hard to connect the south with the central part of the country in the context of traffic. The Prefect of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Nikola Dobroslavić addressed the guests, while the President of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarović sent a video message of congratulations.
The ceremony was also attended by CCL’s representatives – Dragan Bilać, Director General, Hrvoje Skokandić, Head of Dubrovnik ATC Centre, and Helena Cvjetičanin, Information and PR Adviser.
The project for the reconstruction of Dubrovnik Airport is worth 220 million EUR in total, and most of the funds were granted from the EU funds. Besides the new terminal, the project includes the reconstruction of the runway, the construction of the administrative building, the extension of the apron to the west and east, the construction of a new fire-rescue station, the general aviation terminal and hangar. The whole project should be finished by April 2019.
