Norwegian airports operator Avinor has cleared construction of a new airport for Bodo on the country’s north-western coast.
The facility will be completed in 2029, the operator states, following an agreement with the Norwegian armed forces.
It will be sited some 900m to the south of the current Bodo airport, which will remain open until its successor takes over.
Costing some NKr7.2 billion ($717 million), the project will be part-funded by Avinor which will contributed NKr2.6 billion.
The Norwegian government and other funds will make up the balance.
Avinor says the decision to proceed has been held up for various reasons, including the financial uncertainty created by the pandemic.
“It goes without saying that this has been a difficult issue for Avinor,” admits chief executive Abraham Foss.
“We are keen to develop a new airport and we have always been clear about this.”
But Foss adds that it is a “very costly” project that will weigh on the company’s finances for “many years to come”.
“It is only natural that the path to a final decision has been rather long and winding, even if all parties involved had a clear desire to get it over the finishing line,” he says.
Avinor expects the initial contracts, for the runway and taxiway construction, as well as aircraft stands, to be published in the first week of January 2023.
