Vilnius Airport is to invest €7 million in the creation of an industrial zone designated for companies operating in the aviation sector. The VNO Industrial Area, an 8 hectare territory which will be located inside the territory of Vilnius Airport, will offer exclusive plots to companies providing aircraft maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) services, air freight transport, and business and general aviation services.
Situated in the southwestern part of the airport, the VNO Industrial Area will offer six ready-for-construction land plots to investors. The area will boast brand new infrastructure, from engineering and telecommunications networks and aircraft parking spaces through to aviation security checkpoints, access roads and car parking lots for employees. Investors will be able to construct bespoke buildings to meet their exact needs, and will have the option of adding additional infrastructure as they require.
Jūratė Baltrušaitytė, Commercial Director at Lithuanian Airports, is convinced that the location and infrastructure VNO Industrial Area offers will enable companies in the aviation sector to drive down their operating costs. “VNO Industrial Area is a unique investment project targeted at the development of aviation services, and we are receiving lots of interest from potential partners,” she explained. “Investors will have the opportunity to set up and develop their operations in an extremely convenient location of Vilnius Airport with direct access to the airport apron. This location will enable aircrafts to be serviced efficiently, and facilitate the convenient and timely processing of postal items and freight, resulting in lower operating costs.”
In addition to its brand new infrastructure, companies located in VNO Industrial Area will also benefit from the unrivalled transport links Vilnius Airport boasts, with connections to major European cities both by air and by road. Investors will also have a range of opportunities to enter into partnerships with companies already operating in Lithuanian airports.
Work on the Industrial Area will begin at the end of 2017 with the installation of engineering and telecommunications networks, aircraft parking lots, a security checkpoint, an access road and other core infrastructure. Completion of this phase of development is expected by the middle of 2018. Once the land plots have been leased, business operators will be able to start their own works in VNO Industrial Area from the beginning of 2018.
Currently, aircraft MRO services at Lithuanian airports are provided by FL Technics, Charter Jets and Jet MS. Freight transport services are rendered by DHL, TNT, UPS, Lietuvos paštas, Litcargus, Baltcargo and APCargo, while business aviation needs are met by a range of providers which include Charter Jets, Classic Jet, Klas Jet, DOT LT, and Small planet airlines.
