Yesterday Kythera.News revealed with extensive report on the situation in which the state airport of Kythera has fallen, since for 4 years there is complete inaction by the local and central government for its upgrading. In addition, yesterday saw the light of day another serious issue that has recently arisen at the state airport of Kythera, which concerns fire safety and the safety of the airport's passengers in general. With this data, the airport not only did not enter the upgrade track, with the notorious expansion study, but even its safe operation seems to be degraded.
Along with the the systematic silencing of these developments by the competent bodies, and the looming abandonment of the airport upgrade, an argument is being cultivated that the upgrade will run after privatisation. Only the facts refute such unfounded claims.
The 22 airports under concession are being upgraded before they are taken over by the private sector. Chios and Paros are prime examples.
As we read last summer in Economic Postman the State Airport of Chios «Homeros» is upgraded with projects amounting to €6.690.440,44. The scope of the project is the extension, re-arrangement, repair and improvement of the facilities of Chios State Airport.
Also the newly built Paros airport is being expanded and upgraded with infrastructure improvements to the height of €33.000.000. These read in a recent Capital.gr article.
As it is understood public investment in the 22 airports under concession even before the private party takes them over is Important. In addition, Macedonia airport, which is currently managed by Fraport, has received significant funding for upgrades long before it was granted. This is a strong asset for an airport. To have a «dowry» of a «paved» development plan that will make it more attractive to the private investor. So the excuses that we will expect everything from the private sector are not convincing. All the more so when the concession of 22 airports and one more, that of Kalamata, has been known since the era of the memoranda, and no government has changed the concession plan.
In any case a private individual is not always obliged to equate the public interest with private profit. Therefore the public sector should have an interventionist role, especially at small airports which are not always profitable.
