Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) has stated the new runway of Velana International Airport (VIA) will be brought to operation in October.
MACL stated that the new runway is currently in its testing phases. As such, the company revealed flight collaboration testing phases of the new runway will commence very soon. The company said the new runway should be brought to operation by October.
The new VIA runway is 3,400m long and 65m wide and can accommodate wide-bodied passenger aircraft such as the A380. The runway was developed by China based-Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) at a cost of USD400 million. The project was funded by a loan provided by China-based Axis Bank Limited.
The new runway was developed to accommodate the largest commercial airplanes currently in use. MACL said the new runway will help to increase the number of flights landing at the airport per hour by 30%.