The runway of the Oradea airport will be expanded in order to allow large Airbus and Boeing planes to land. Local authorities hope that in this way they will be able to attract new flights.

The modernization of the airport's infrastructure will drive more traffic to Oradea from 2023 onwards, according to Bihor County Council president Ilie Bolojan.

“The parking platform will also be expanded to be able to accommodate more aircraft. The radio navigation system and equipment will be upgraded, allowing aircraft to land in difficult weather conditions. Along with the other investments that are underway at the airport, expanding the runway will create the conditions for the development of new flights from Oradea airport starting next year,” he says, cited by Economedia.

The expanded runway will reach 2,500 meters in total. The contract for the project has been signed between the Bihor County Council and an association of firms headed by Precon Transilvania. The tender is valued at roughly RON 80 mln (EUR 16.3 mln) and will be covered by EU funds. The deadline is in 13 months, the first six being the design stage.

The project also involves the purchase and installation of precision landing instruments and a light beacon system at the end of the runway from Nojorid. With the help of this equipment, the city of Oradea will be freed from planes flying over it, as the landing direction will no longer be from the north, but from the south. This change will significantly reduce greenhouse gases and noise pollution generated by aircraft over Oradea, according to local authorities.

A cargo terminal is also being built at Oradea Airport by developer CTP. "The cargo terminal, along with the airport, the industrial parks, the belt, the network of express and metropolitan roads, will represent an economic anchor for Bihor county,” Bolojan says.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Octav Ganea | Inquam Photos)