Latvian company A.C.B., which already has similar experience in reconstructing Vilnius Airport runway in 2017, won the contract for reconstruction of Palanga Airport runway in the call for tenders that was issued in autumn of the last year. During this project, one taxiway and some parts of the apron are also planned to be reconstructed, and airport operations are likely to be suspended in autumn for the shortest required period, which is for 45 days.
This public tender procedure is said to have received considerable attention from market participants, as many as six Lithuanian and foreign companies that have experience in implementing large projects competed with each other with their tenders. The successful tenderer undertook to carry out all the planned works for 13.6 million euros (exclusive of VAT), which is less than was planned before the call for tenders was issued.
Lithuanian Airports expect to sign a contract with a company A.C.B. after all necessary procedures, including inspection of the company in the Commission for Projects Important for National Security. The contract is planned to be signed by April of this year.
According Dainius Čiuplys, Head of Operations and Infrastructure Department at Lithuanian Airports, renovation of the essential infrastructure of Palanga Airport is a necessary measure that has been planned in order to ensure safety and improve environmental solutions.
“The runway of Palanga Airport was last reconstructed in 2007. This means that its life cycle is already nearing the end and investment in renovation is required. We are convinced that, with the recovery of the aviation market, the strategically important airport of Lithuanian coastal region will be popular, the demand to travel through it will definitely remain. This is evidenced by double-digit growth in the number of passengers in this airport that was recorded before the pandemic. And our main task in the context of this project is to ensure that the recovery of aviation would take place in a secure infrastructure and would generate added value for the whole region”, – says D. Čiuplys.
During the reconstruction, the operations of the airport are planned to be suspended for a minimum period of 45 days. The period of the works is expected to cover September and October of this year.
A company Sweco Lietuva has previously performed preparatory work for the reconstruction of Palanga Airport: assessment of the infrastructure situation, research, lifetime assessment of structures, prepared pre-design proposals and technical projects. Lithuanian Airports is said to have planned to finance contract work in the preparatory stages of this project only at the expense of the company, but the pandemic that hit the world in 2020 undermined the financial opportunities of the company to implement this project, that is necessary for the country, on its own. The opportunities to finance this necessary reconstruction in alternative ways are currently being sought together with the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
