Major expansion increases capacity at Ruzyne airport

A newly designed terminal, scheduled to open at the end of 2005, will ultimately increase capacity to 17 million passengers. With the fastest-growing airport of the new European Union members, it comes as little surprise that Prague has been chosen to host a major airport-industry trade conference. At the Global Airport Development conference in November, Vaclav Muchna, head of international affairs for the Czech Airports Authority (CSL), the government agency tasked with managing Prague's Ruzyne airport, is expected to discuss the prospects of privatization and the ongoing expansion work at Central Europe's largest airport. With two expansion projects on track and a 30 percent growth in passenger traffic this year, Ruzyne is fast growing into a major airport, but it faces challenges if it wants to remain competitive against more-developed airports in Western Europe. The European Bank for Regional Development, which has attempted to promote the development of Czech airports, is interested in equity participation in Ruzyne. Macquarie Airport Group, part of the Australian bank conglomerate that manages $4 billion in airport assets, and the French construction company Vinci have both identified Prague as an attractive investment. Despite the interest, government officials have remained mum about the prospect of selling the airport.