The authorities of the Ministry of National Defense and Puertas del Sur S.A., signed this Wednesday the documentation for the initiation of the works of the Carmelo airport, which will require an investment of eight and a half million dollars.
The ceremony took place at the Carmelo airport and was attended by the Minister of Defense, Javier García, the Mayor of Colonia, Carlos Moreira, the General Director of the Ministry, Fabián Martínez, the Director of Dinacia, Brig. Gen. Gaetano Battagliese and authorities of Puertas del Sur S.A.
The new airport works will start in April and are expected to be completed by December of this year. It will include runway and apron signaling, refueling, a new passenger terminal, perimeter fencing, accesses to Route 22, lighting, a fire station, and hangars.
The airport is currently authorized only for domestic flights and work is underway to obtain authorization for international flights in 2023, which will require immigration, customs, and aeronautical police, among others.
During the presentation of the project, Minister García considered it an » emblematic» act. Carmelo will be the first airport to be modernized in Uruguay, after integrating it to the National Airport System, as a result of the law voted by the Parliament and the subsequent decision of the Executive Power.
«Let’s bear in mind that Carmelo was already one of the busiest airports in the country. And this will mean boosting development, tourism, trade, commerce, business, boosting the area», the minister explained.
The project to integrate the airports into the National Airport System, under the orbit of Corporación América, has a total investment of US$67 million to invest in the modernization of the airports of Rivera, Salto, Cerro Largo, Paysandú, and Durazno.
Currently, the National Airport System is made up of the aforementioned airports, plus Carrasco, in Montevideo, and Laguna del Sauce, in Maldonado.
