The government has announced that is preparing the specifications of a international tender for the construction of the first stage of the project, in the amount of $107 million.
For the second time, the Honduran government has made changes to the bidding rules for the construction of the airport in Comayagua. The first phase will cost $107 million and will be built on the Enrique Soto Cano base in Palmerola.
The cancellation of the current lease and Spain's agreement to use funds from debt restructuring, have enabled a new tender for the construction and operation of the Honduran airport.
The construction project includes a new airport runway with a length of 2,440 meters for the operation of commercial vessels which are widebodied and without any restrictions and low restrictions for long-haul destinations.
Currently being contemplated is the possibility of canceling the contract for the construction and management of the airport, awarded in January, and putting out a new tender for the procedure.
Due to the fact that airport safety in the country is now the responsibility of the government, the Commission for the Promotion of Public Private Partnerships (Coalianza) has announced that they are studying the possibility of canceling the contract which was awarded to Saisa, which included the management of security, and instead launching a new tender which would remove the issue of security from the contract.
In terms of how modern the infrastructure for air transport is, Panama leads the field, followed distantly by Costa Rica.
"None of the airports in Central America comes close to knocking Tocumen off its number one position in the ranking by Skytrax, nor the ranking by the World Economic Forum. The latter measures the quality of infrastructure for air travel in the country , where Panama climbed from 38th place in 2007 to last year reach the prestigious position of sixth place," reported Elsalvador.com.
The infrastructure in most airports in Central America can not cover the increase in the number of air passengers transiting in the region.
In the region, traffic has increased by almost 80% over the last ten years going from 95 million to 170 million passengers. "Today, 30% of Latin American flights take off or land at congested airports, which constitutes one of the main difficulties in the development of the airline industry," noted an article in Eleconomista.net.
The company of Chinese origin, Harbour Engineering Company, has acquired the requirements to participate in the tender for the construction of Palmerola airport.
This company is the sixth to present itself before the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (Coalianza) to purchase the tender specifications for the project that will cost about $130 million in its first stage.
In the event of not reaching an agreement with the current concessionaire, the government of Honduras is planning alternatives.
The Commission for the Promotion of Public-Private Partnerships (Coalianza) has a period of 10 days in which to reach an agreement with InterAirports SA (IASA) on the renegotiation of the technical and financial model for the construction of Palmerola, which they have been unable to finalize for the last five months.
The expansion work and repair of the airport will be completed in a period of five years.
Representatives from Aeropuertos de Honduras, the company responsible for the operation of Roatan airport, announced the investment project to city officials and businessmen.
Among the works to be carried out are the expansion by 3,000 square feet of the terminal building, the implementation of a new air conditioning system, repair of the runway and aircraft parking expansion.
The company Aeropuertos de Honduras has announced an investment of $52 million into expanding and remodeling four international terminals.
Fredy Nasser, president of Aeropuertos de Honduras, said that the works will be carried out at the airports of Toncontín in Tegucigalpa, Goloson in La Ceiba, Juan Manuel Galvez in Roatan, and San Pedro Sula.
The former president of the Cortes Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIC), Oscar Galeano, told Latribuna.hn "the investment in the international airport in San Pedro Sula, will cover the purchase and acquisition of technology for the operation of the flights, air conditioning improvements, expansion of the terminal and the installation of three additional walkways, among other improvements. "
The Honduran government is awaiting the results of a feasibility study before beginning the project.
The president of Honduras, Porfirio Lobo, reiterated the government's intention to remodel the Palmerola commercial airport, also known as Soto Cano in order to replace the International Airport, Toncontin.
Lobo indicated that they are waiting for a technical study that is being conducted by a Spanish company, with which they can determine the feasibility of the project and analyze the proposal that has already been received from the builder.
Interairports company representatives have announced the investment after receiving approval for the project from the Porfirio Lobo government.
The company holding the concession to operate Honduran airports expects the works at Palmerola to be completed by the end of 2013, for which they will need to begin as soon as possible after finalizing the necessary paperwork with the government.
Singapore will provide financial assistance to conduct studies for the construction of the new Palmerola Airport.
The deal was agreed during the official visit of Honduran president, Porfirio Lobo Sosa, to the Asian island.
The head of the Ministry of Public Works, Transportation and Housing of Honduras, Miguel Pastor, a member of the official delegation, said, "We completed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with strong support from Singapore in the construction planning phase of the new terminal in the sector of Palmerola Comayagua," reports Laprensa.hn.
The only runway at the International Airport of the Honduran capital will have its premiere in a few days, with an expansion of 150 meters in addition to another 150 meters in security zones at the airport.
The security of air operations at this airport has been much questioned, exactly for the basic issue of the length of its runway, which was a contributing factor to the cause of the TACA accident where, on May 30th of last year, [the plane] overran the end of the runway, crashing against the bank of a highway and causing the death of 5 people.