Belgrade Airport’s runway overhaul advances

The ongoig overhaul of Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport’s main runway (12L/30R) is expected to be completed by June of this year. Once all construction work is finalised, the runway must receive necessary clearance from the state’s aviation stakeholders and regulators. The 3.400-metre runway, built in 1962, is being completely overhauled and layered with high-resistance concrete, specially developed for the project, to improve its weight-bearing capacity. Furthermore, it will have a new drainage and LED lighting system, as well as a new system of taxiways, including four rapid exit taxiways (RETs). The RETs will enable aircraft to turn off at higher speeds than regular exit taxiways thereby minimising runway occupancy times. Following the completion of the overhaul, the inserted runway, which was opened last year, will be used as a parallel taxiway to the runway. A new investment cycle is expected to commence thereafter, including phase 2.2 of Terminal 2’s expansion, which will see the addition of new gates in the C wing of the facility. Operator VINCI has so far invested some 286 million euros into Belgrade Airport out of the planned 730 million euros it is obligated to invest for the duration of the concession.