Interior ministry ready to back Narva airport idea
The Ministry of the Interior, which administers border checks, sees no problem in opening an international airport in Olgina, near Narva, but the idea first needs a concrete plan and coordination with other state departments.
Narva, the third largest town in Estonia, and Vaivara local government, where the Olgina airfield is located, this summer asked the ministry for its thoughts on turning the airfield into an international airport.
“With Narva local powers, we wanted to ask the ministry if it is possible to open an international border point in Olgina, where border guards and customs officials are able to do checks in such cases as when a helicopter lands,” Vaivara municipality head Veikko Luhalaid told rus.err.ee.
The ministry said it has no reason to block the plan, but a financial map, ownership details and a development plan are needed.
Olgina currently has a 700-meter-grass-covered-runway.
Vadim Orlov, the head of the Narva Logistics and Industrial Park, said a month ago that an air connection to Narva, which is a 2-3 hour drive from Tallinn, would bring in investors.
“For me, as a representative of an industrial park, it would be a very important argument to attract investors. I have a concrete example in a Ukraine investor, who wanted to set up a company with 150 employees in Narva, but due to a lack of an airport, decided for Tallinn instead. The investor valued fast air connections, and Narva could not offer that,” Orlov said.
Editor: J.M. Laats