The Israel Airports Authority (IAA) approved last week the construction of a "fourth arm" (arm E) at Ben Gurion International Airport's Terminal 3, at a cost of NIS 660 million (US$187 million).
In a statement issued by the IAA it noted that the new arm intend to meet the needs of the larger number of passengers passing through the airport following the signing of the Open Skies agreement with the EU to open airline competition for flights to and from Israel.
The IAA also noted that it expects 14 million passengers to have used Ben Gurion International Airport by the end of the year, and sees this number rising to 16 million passengers by 2018, and is planning construction capable of handling 20 million passengers annually in the coming years.
The existing arms at Ben Gurion Airport have eight connectors for incoming and outgoing flights.
The planned 17,000 square meters expansion will include two exit gates to buses, five parking areas for large planes or seven for smaller planes, a lobby, cafes and stores.Work also will begin early next year on an NIS 800 million (US$228 million) upgrade of the airport’s runways that will allow a doubling of airplane traffic.
