New terminal design approved for Saransk Airport

Saransk Airport is speeding reconstruction process in advance of the FIFA 2018 (Image by Aeroproject)

Saransk Airport, in the homonymous capital city of Mordovia Republic (Russia), has reported reaching another milestone in its preparation for the FIFA World Cup in 2018: the project design for a new passenger terminal has been approved by the state authorities.

The concept, designed by state owned Aeroproject Research Institute, is a two-storey rectangular building with lounges, check-in and baggage claim areas on the ground floor and departure gates on the first floor. The new terminal’s capacity of 300 passengers per hour on domestic lines and 150 on international, is 4.5 times higher than the existing terminal’s current capacity of 100 passengers per hour. The airport’s total capacity according to FIFA requirements should not be less than 960 passengers per hour. Therefore, plans call for reconstruction of the existing terminal to increase its capacity to at least 450 passengers per hour.

Reconstruction of the airport infrastructure is also underway. Presently, one 2,800 m by 42 m runway is operational at Saransk airport, approved for use by regional-class aircraft only. As a result of the runway and apron reconstruction, the airfield will be capable of receiving narrow-bodies up to the size of Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A320.

Plans call for the reconstruction process to be complete by the end of 2017. According to Kommersant national daily, in the period between 2015 and 2017 federal funds in the amount of 2.6 billion rubles ($40 million) will be allocated for the airport’s development, complemented by another 1 billion rubles ($15 million) from the budget of the Mordovia Republic.

Saransk airport handles in average 26,000 passengers per year.