The Chetumal International Airport terminal will be expanded this year to meet the needs of an increasing number of passengers.

Airport operator Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA), a federal government-owned corporation, announced a competitive tendering process for companies interested in adding almost 2,500 square meters of space to the terminal in the Quintana Roo capital.

New stores, public washrooms, security areas, airline offices and waiting rooms are all part of the project.

ASA has a Congress-approved budget of 150 million pesos (US $8 million) to spend on the improvements.

Eight companies have so far submitted bids of between 47 million and 71 million pesos to build the terminal addition. The winning bidder will be announced on April 30.

ASA is also looking for a construction company to build a new control tower, which is expected to cost around 35 million pesos (US $1.8 million).

The airport operator first presented an expansion plan and application for funding to the federal government in 2014. Since then, the runway at the Chetumal airport has been extended but most other projects outlined in the plan were not undertaken.

The number of passengers who use the airport annually has increased from 120,000 in 2014, when Interjet was the only airline that flew to and from Chetumal, to more than 320,000 last year.

Volaris, Maya Air and VivaAerobus operate flights to the city, which is located just north of the border with Belize.

The federal government’s plan to relocate the Secretariat of Tourism (Sectur) to Chetumal and construction of the Maya Train are expected to generate further growth in passenger numbers in the coming years.

Source: Reforma (sp)