Huelva Given Green Light for International Airport

An idea first conceived over 30 years ago in 1976 has finally been given the green light – Huelva, capital city of the south westerly Spanish province of the same name, is to receive its own international airport.

Talks officially began in 1999, but this year the Spanish Ministry of Development has sanctioned private company, Agricola el Pintado SL, to build a 350 hectare facility valued at €150 million.

Huelva province takes in the western Costa de la Luz, Spain's sunniest coastline bordering the Portuguese Algarve, a region which is seeing phenomenal growth in both tourism and real estate.

The area was previously only accessed by air via Faro in Portugal or Seville; an hour away from key resorts such as El Rompido and Nuevo Portil. An international airport at Huelva will reduce driving time to as little as 15 minutes and it could be fully operational by as early as 2012.

"Huelva is the fastest growing destination for golf tourism in Spain, with mega golf resorts, such as Costa Esuri, driving thousands more visitors to our striking coastline." explains Andrew Benitz, director of local real estate specialists, Titan Properties.

"An additional international airport is both logical and intrinsic to the coast’s future growth and the news that Huelva has been given the official go-ahead is most welcome."

The viability study currently underway states that: Huelva has the lowest percentage of foreign visitors compared to the rest of the coastal provinces of Andalusia; and that the lack of air access limits the tourism growth of the province. This leaves Málaga, Cádiz or the Portuguese Algarve with a competitive advantage, but all this looks set to change.

The existing 700m runway will be replaced by a 2,400m runway for intercontinental flights which would see an estimated 1.5 million passengers pass through within the first decade of operation. The floodgates would open for no-frills carriers from the rest of Europe and Huelva would get its chance to flourish.

"Now’s the perfect time to invest in property in the Huelva region because, now the airport has been given the green light, we expect property prices to rise considerably over the forthcoming years as demand increases for property in this stunning area of Spain," adds Mr. Benitz.

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Information provided by Purple Cake Factory SL and Titan Properties.

Last updated: 31 January 2008