This week began the first activities related to the construction work of Stage 1 of the new Café Airport in Colombia, located in the municipality of Palestina, Caldas, 26 kilometers from Manizales, and which will replace La Nubia Airport, that moves about 300 thousand passengers per year.
This phase of execution includes the leveling, transportation and disposal of surplus materials, as well as the construction of various drainage works and the adaptation and conformation of deposit sites for excess materials, as detailed by Aerocivil.
The first stage of the Café Airport will consist of a 1,460-meter runway suitable for day and night operations, which will then be extended to 2,600 meters, and finally to 3,800, along with all the necessary support infrastructure.
The project was able to advance after having secured national funds last April for 198,119 million Colombian pesos, which are complemented by the $ 83,739 contributed by the Region between 2020 and 2023. Another $ 250,000 million had already been obtained previously, with 84.3% of the total budget of $ 541,858 million (about USD 150 million) being covered.
«The National Government will continue to support this fundamental project to promote connectivity and economic reactivation of the entire department of Quindío, which will find in the Café Airport a fundamental pole of economic development», commented Ángela María Orozco, Minister of Transport from Colombia.
“The Civil Aeronautics ratifies its commitment to support the project that is being developed in its leveling stage as planned, with which it is expected to move about 5.8 million cubic meters of land to give way to the construction of the new air terminal. We will continue working hand in hand in its development until we can provide Quindianos with an airport that meets their expectations and supports the progress of this important region of the country,” said Jair Orlando Fajardo Fajardo, CEO of Aerocivil.