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Cuba says two French companies to manage, renovate Havana airport

Xinhua, August 4, 2016 Adjust font size:

Cuba announced on Wednesday that two French companies will take over the management and renovation of Havana's Jose Marti International Airport amid a substantial increase in tourism to the island.

According to an official statement, Havana authorized Aeroports de Paris, the French government-controlled firm that runs various airports in Europe, to operate the capital' s international airfield.

Furthermore, Havana's airport will be renovated by the French company, Bouygues Batiment, and expanded close to the nearby town of San Antonio de los Baños, about 40 km south of the capital.

"This decision will improve the quality of services and operations at Jose Marti International Airport where over 50 percent of the nation's tourists arrive," said the statement.

This renovation and expansion are set to become one of the most important infrastructure projects in Cuba, and the largest French-Cuban deal since President Francois Hollande visited the island in May 2015.

"The license provides financing options for immediate use to improve the quality of services at the airport as well as medium and long-term changes caused by the estimated increase in travelers," added the statement.

Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said earlier this week that more than 2 million tourists visited Cuba in the first half of this year, putting the country on track for a record number of visitors in 2016.

Marrero added that Cuba expects to receive 3.8 million tourists this year. The surge is being credited to a wave of international interest in Cuba prompted by the restoration of U.S.-Cuba relations in 2015.

Meanwhile, Josefina Vidal, Cuba's head of U.S. affairs, said on Twitter that 138,000 Americans visited in the first half of 2016, an 80 percent increase from last year.

Bouygues Batiment has extensive construction experience in Cuba and is currently building two hotels in Havana and one in the nation's most important beach resort, Varadero. Endit