A tender of over 150 million pesos to remodel Mar del Plata’s  Astor Piazzolla Airport has been put out, the company Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 announced last Wednesday. The bids to “totally remodel the passenger terminal” must be submitted by Tuesday, 26 June.

This project was originally announced by Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich during a visit to Mar del Plata in March.  

The overhaul includes expanding the pre-embarkment areas for both domestic and international flights from 197 to 258 square metres, doubling the space in the case of the former..

Furthermore, there will be a new passenger bridge allowing direct access straight from the terminal to the aircraft, as in any modern airport.

New technology will also be installed in the Control:Tower system of communications with radio backups and a new ILS, to guíde aircraft approaching the airport with greater accuracy, it was officially announced.

“After many years of not being given any priority or investments, Mar del Plata today is a protagonist of the ‘aviation revolution’. In recent years it has advanced from four to 14 flights during the tourist season. As against what is often said from an erroneous vision of Argentine air transport, Mar del Plata has competition (Andes and Avianca) and even so Aerolíneas Argentinas has consolidated its growth and doubled its passenger volume since the summer of 2015,″pointed out Dietrich when making that announcement.

“Today the people of Mar del Plata have more travel options, more destinations and more tourists, which translates into more jobs and more development for the Argentine coast,” he added.