Reform Project Helps Chernivtsi Take Off
Chernivtsi International Airport is both a source of pride and problems for its namesake city. The airfield was built back in 1933; and although the runway was renovated in the mid-1980s, modernization of the airport is long overdue. “Currently, the airport does not meet certain technical requirements needed to accommodate modern aircrafts,” reports Airport Director Volodymyr Kalyniuk.
Modern international practices use Class 5 airplanes, such as the Airbus-320 or Boeing-737, which save on per-passenger flight costs. Due to its technical conditions, the Chernivtsi Airport can only receive Class 4 aircrafts like the Yak-42, the Tu-134 and lower-class crafts. To accommodate Class 5 airplanes, the airport must expand and extend its runway to 2,600 meters (approximately 1.6 miles). Reconstruction would open the door for flights to Central and Western Europe, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and China, providing less expensive and more comfortable summer vacation travel options and convenient connections for Chernivtsi’s citizens. Improved air transportation would also provide a big advantage for entrepreneurs doing business at the large Chernivtsi Kalynivsky Open Market.
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| A TU-154 jet lands on the runway at Chernivtsi International Airport |
Since June 2006, resolving the runway problem has been a top priority for the local government, which understands that the safety and quality of life of Chernivtsi’s citizens depends on the airport’s condition. For the past two years, Chernivtsi has been cooperating with USAID’s Municipal Budget Reform (MBR) Project. MBR experts helped to implement Performance Program Budgeting (PPB), which leading countries worldwide have used since the mid-20th century, to ensure that city funding is channeled to socially important programs. As a result of this effort, the city managed to allocate funding for a program called “Reconstruction and Modernization of the Airfield and Other Facilities of the Chernivtsi International Airport.” This enabled Chernivtsi to take the first steps toward reconstruction, including topographic, design and survey works, and a preconstruction simulation of the airport’s reconstruction. By the end of 2007, 20 million UAH was allocated for airport reconstruction.
After the airport reconstruction is completed, management plans to increase passenger flow from 25,000 to 100,000 passengers per year. According to the Airport’s chief engineer, Petro Zebachinskyi, reconditioning and repair of the tarmac will be done using the most advanced technologies, in particular “recycling,” which will ensure that the runway is of the highest quality.
Speaking about his plans for the future, Director Kalyniuk points out that the next project will be the construction of a new passenger terminal which will allow for the comfortable accommodation of increasing passenger flows. According to him, the opening of new flights to European countries, in particular Greece and Turkey, will not only help to improve the quality of travel, but will also help to attract new strategic investments to the city. “By moving in this direction . . our airport will achieve a higher level and broader spectrum of services. This possibility makes both us and our citizens happy!” he says.
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