Łask airport takes off
The military base in Łask will be transformed into a civil airport which will provide cargo services. The airport in Łask is currently home to the 32nd Airforce Base. However, growing investments in the Łódzkie voivodship, from companies such as Dell, Siemens, Indesit and Gillette, has resulted in a growing demand for cargo services.
"These companies simply must have an airport at their disposal," the president of Lotnisko Łask, Zbigniew Tynenski, said.
According to the development plan, a cargo-mix terminal (a terminal which can perform more than cargo services only) will be erected at a cost of E50 (zł.189) million. This stage also includes creation of three logistics centers, as well as the construction of roads connecting the airport to the national transport network. Tynenski estimates the total investment cost at E400 (zł.1,511) million.
"The first planes could start landing in about a year's time, while the first stage should be completed by the end of 2009," Tynenski explained.
The second stage of the project will include developing the railway connections with the airport, as well as connecting it with the national highway system (most of which itself has yet to be built).
Tynenski underlines the importance of the road infrastructure. "We are so determined that we are ready to build the road to the Łód ring road ourselves," Tynenski declared.
In the first stage, the existing runways, recently modernised by NATO, will be used by both the cargo planes as well as the military aircraft. Later, Lotnisko Łask plans to build a second runway.
"This will make us independent of the military base," Tynenski said.
As far as financing the project is concerned, "the money will come from our own sources, from commercial investors and from the EU through the Marshal of the voivodship," Tynenski said. The airport's president disclosed that the interest among commercial investors for providing financing for the project is so large that the airport can guarantee that it will receive all the funds it expects from the commercial sector.
Although he underlines that cargo services will be the focus of the airport, Tynenski said that it will also be ready to serve passenger flights when needed.
"We will be prepared to serve any airplane of any size in any weather conditions," he said.
