Kelowna International Airport borrowing for expansion by 2010.
Airport borrowing on agenda
by Wayne Moore - Story: 36702
Jan 21, 2008 / 7:00 am
Kelowna City Council is expected to approve the borrowing of more than $45 million for improvements at Kelowna International Airport when it meets Monday.
Council is being asked to approve the borrowing of the funds from the Municipal Finance Authority of B.C. as part of its Spring 2008 issue.
Kelowna Council passed a bylaw back in December authorizing the funds for improvement projects at the airport.
Revenues from Airport Improvement Fees will will repay all costs of borrowing the funds.
Improvements at the airport include extension of the current runway, expansion of the terminal building, construction of a new car rental terminal, and additional vehicle parking.
Construction is expected to be complete by 2010.
With the expansion of Kelowna's airport to allow for larger planes and with direct flights slated from London,England and Sydney,Australia by 2010 the world seems to have set its sights on Kelowna,BC. Also, consider the impact that the Vancouver 2010 Games will have on the province and the timing of the airport expansion could not be better! Ease of travel is of the utmost importance to the average family or investor, and to be able to fly direct from a major hub will certainly accomplish that. Kelowna International Airport already has in excess of a million visitors a year and is the tenth busiest airport in Canada. See Kelowna Airport Stats. The demand to travel to the Okanagan Valley is quite evident when driving down Highway 97 (aka Harvey Ave.) and look at all the lit up "No Vacancy" signs during the Summer and Fall months. That sort of high demand will potentially continue into a year round phenomena once our friends "Across the pond" are able to travel here with relative ease; with Europeans taking advantage of their strong dollar and wanting to experience the "champagne powder" of local ski hills. It truly is a wonderful time to live in Kelowna and it looks as though I am not the only one that feels that way!
Kelowna International Airport
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Sincerely,
Jason Neumann
Posted by Jason Neumann
on January 23, 2008