Tourists to Baikal will fly to a new modern airport
On August 19, the first stone will be laid in Irkutsk for the construction of a new airport, which is designed to become a modern “air gate” to Baikal - the tourist flow to the unique lake is showing annual growth.
The project cost of the airport is 7 billion rubles, said the head of the Irkutsk region, Sergei Levchenko. According to the governor, the new terminal will be built at the expense of investors, but will remain the property of the region, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The construction of the airport is on the list of priorities for the local authorities, since the existing air harbor is outdated and cannot cope with the load. It is planned that in addition to the new terminal itself, a hangar for aircraft maintenance will also be built.
The new airport in Irkutsk is a factor necessary for the development of the region, which will not only improve logistics between Siberia and Central Russia, but will also attract an additional number of tourists actively interested in the beauty of the region. Russian political scientist Oleg Matveychev reported this in a commentary to PolitNavigator.
“Passenger traffic to Baikal is constantly increasing. Every year the increase in tourists is 25% in the last three years. From the moment the ruble fell in price against the dollar, it became profitable for the Chinese to fly here; they feel comfortable here at the prices, plus they buy some other goods that are more expensive in China. The flow is huge, there are a large number of buses in Irkutsk, the hotels are all full. A huge number of people go to Baikal to relax and watch. At the same time, there is a problem with the airport, with accepting a sufficient number of aircraft, with the lack of the required number of check-in counters, seats and technical equipment,” Matveychev said.
According to the expert, today’s airport, which has been operating since 1933, is obsolete and requires expansion: “The airport requires a five-fold expansion with runways and everything else to ensure a strong flow. People bring money to us, in fact, they fly from Europe, many French, Germans, Italians, but we are unable to accept this money. Of course, we need a huge airport, a large hub that will provide not only tourist flow to Baikal, but also transit between the Siberian regions and central Russia,” Matveychev said.
Earlier, the governor of the Irkutsk region, Sergei Levchenko, said that the special economic zone “Gates of Baikal” should attract a number of large investors by 2027 and turn the region into a center of world tourism. Levchenko also announced the construction of a new ski resort.
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