Bydgoszcz's new cargo facilities
The decision comes in response to the needs of Sharp and Orion Electric, Japanese investors in the Łysomice SEZ, who will construct assembly lines to produce LCD screens and need an airport that can cope with Boeing 747 transport planes.
"Currently we are waiting for the Japanese companies to express their actual needs. Then we will be able to start the construction process and set the costs. If we launch construction in the spring, it will be completed within six to eight months," says Józef Lach, president of Bydgoszcz's airport.
In the meantime, the airport has made some estimates. Apart from a runway big enough for Boeing 747s, the Japanese companies may need a warehouse and a hangar. Thus the airport wants to extend the runway by some 800 meters and construct a 1,000-sqm warehouse.
According to the airport's president, Józef Lach, the investment could be worth some zł.20-22 million, which could be financed from the 2007-2013 EU funds.
Although designed for Sharp and Orion Electric, the investment could also attract more investors. "A cargo terminal could awaken the airport," says Sławomir Filipiak, director of the Investors' Bureau at Bydgoszcz City Hall.
Along with Łódź Airport, Paderewski Airport is lobbying to join the Transcontinental Transport Network (TST). A presence on the TST list is an important factor in gaining EU funds.
