RIX fourth terminal is scheduled to be completed in 2013.

RIGA — Latvian national carrier airBaltic signed a memorandum of understanding with the TAV Airports Holding during the second annual North Hub aviation conference in Riga on Wednesday to build a new terminal at Riga International Airport.

Havas, a subsidiary of the Turkish-based TAV Airports Holding, owns 50 percent of North Hub Services which provides ground handling services at RIX. TAV and the state-owned airBaltic are now set to create a joint venture with ownership split fifty-fifty to develop, construct and operate the airport’s fourth terminal.

The project is estimated to cost about 92 million lats (€130 million) and the terminal, which would be in a new structure adjacent to the existing main airport building, is tentatively planned for completion in 2013. Meanwhile

The airport, constructed in 1974 when Latvia was part of the Soviet Union, had its first two-floor pier terminal built in 2003. Previously departing passengers were bused to planes from a circular waiting annex adjacent to the main building.

Strategy of growth

Given airBaltic’s strategy of expansion and domination of the still underdeveloped airline market in the Baltic states, seeking to expand RIX’s capacity is not surprising. The amount of passengers at the airport has steadily increased since 2002, unlike Vilnius International and Lennart Meri which both saw sizable traffic drops last year.

In an interview with business newspaper Diena Bizness which published Thursday, Andrew Gordon, a market analyst for aircraft manufacturer Airbus said the move was based on Riga’s potential as a major air transport hub.

“airBaltic is a very fast-growing company. Looking at their strategy, we see that from Riga during the next 10 years can develop 100 new routes. Here we see the same rapid growth as for China and India,” Gordons said.

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