Eight companies bid for ground handling services at new Athens Airport

At least eight European Union companies have forwarded first-phase bids for the ground handling services at the new Athens Airport being constructed at the Athens suburb of Spata. Revenue from handling services at the airport is expected to reach 40 billion drachmas annually.
In the first days of November, the Athens Airport will announce the companies selected to participate in the second phase of the bid. And by the end of the year, Athens Airport is expected to call for the final bid so as a handling company can be awarded the contract by February of 2000.
The new Athens International Airport<.> is more than 72% complete and is five months ahead of schedule, according to recent announcements by the builder and future operator, Hochtief. All construction works were to be completed by September 2000 in order run a pilot opening in October and to open the airport officially in March 2001.
Before the end of this year, the airport expects to see new projects, such as a four-star 350-room hotel, fueling distribution centers, cargo, in-flight catering, and separate terminals for private aircraft well into the construction phase. The total value for investment opportunities over the next few years is estimated at 200 billion drachmas.
The builder has undertaken the design, financing, construction, administration and development of the new airport. The self-financed project, 55%-owned by the state and the rest by a private consortium headed by Hochtief, will cost 4.1 billion German marks to construct. It aims to service 6,000 passengers per hour and up to 16 million passengers per year in the first stage of operation. The airport can expand to handle 50 million passengers annually. With its two runways, the airport can handle 65 aircraft movements per hour.
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