On August 28 in Kharkiv opened a new airport terminal. This is the first in Ukraine private air terminal, built entirely for the money of the businessman Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy: main investor of city's preparations for Euro 2012 spent 55 million dollars.
Viktor Yanukovych, Vice Prime Minister Boris Kolesnikov, and Governor Mikhail Dobkin have helped the "owner" to cut the red ribbon. Chief operating officer Martin Kallen and UEFA Euro-2012 director in Ukraine Markiyan Lubkivsky were among the guests.
The construction with area of 20 thousand square meters is equipped with the latest European standards - to participate in its drafting Austrian and German specialists were invited, construction began in the spring of 2008.
In the near future the country's only super-modern baggage handling system from Vanderlande Industries will start to work - Moscow airport Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo and Domodedovo are equipped with the same ones.
Another one of the highlights - telescopic terminals, which will deliver passengers to the exit of the airport directly to the aircraft.
Already in October from Kharkiv will be flying regular flights to Istanbul, in the short term - flights to Germany, France, Italy and Poland, as well as the Middle East, Central Asia and most of the territory of Russia.
The new terminal will pay off only in 20 years, assumes the deputy general director on strategic development of "New Systems AM" Vitaliy Nedashkovskiy.
In one and a half to two months will begin the next phase of reconstruction - now the old building of the airport terminal, built in the early 1950's is on the waiting list.
It is assumed that the works will cost $5-6 million, it will be Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy`s money and funds from the state budget. After the reconstruction the old terminal will serve the VIP-passengers. Its appearance in the style of "Stalin's empire" will be untouched - also one of the "highlights" of the project.
- This will be an exclusive complex. We'll make an old-style Stalin's time terminal, just like when it was built. Women in kokoshniks, Vodka in glasses, salted cucumbers from Russia. Everything as it should be," - says Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy.
Now the reconstruction of the runway is going in high gear: it is planned to be extended to 2.5 km, and then our airport will be able to take medium-range aircraft such as Boeing and Airbus. The company plans the reconstruction of the hotel at the airport.
Aleksandr Yaroslavskyy, DCH president, the main investor of Kharkiv's preparations for Euro 2012:
- Today, Kharkiv has a five-star airport. Today it has a five-star stadium. And why doesn`t it need five-star hotels? Today, almost all of Kharkiv hotels are five star ones! (On the question of whether Kharkiv needs five-star hotels to be built specially for Euro 2012).
Natalia Goncharova, Nadezhda Zhukova
IA "MOST-Kharkiv"
