Operator Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú (AAP) is to invest $26m in the expansion and modernisation of Arequipa Airport, which serves Peru’s second largest city.

The revamp of Arequipa Airport – also known as Alfredo Rodríguez Ballón International Airport – will include expansion and modernisation of the passenger terminal, redesign of the vehicle parking lot, implementation of the emergency operations centre and the acquisition of equipment, among other things.

The airport expansion project is in the process of being reviewed by the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC). If it is approved on schedule, construction will begin in the last quarter of 2024.

“Arequipa is the second most visited region in Peru due to its importance for both tourism and business. Passenger demand is on its way to matching pre-pandemic levels, hence our request for approval to modernise and expand the current terminal so that it can efficiently support growth in passenger demand up to 2027,” said Raúl Díaz Díaz, general manager of AAP.

Díaz explained that there has been a progressive increase in visitors to Arequipa – known as the White City – after the social demonstrations that occurred at the beginning of this year. “Arequipa is seeing around 180 thousand passengers per month, which means that we will reach 2 million in 2023, 15% more than the previous year.”

Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú operates and manages airports in the main cities in the south of the Latin American country: Arequipa, Ayacucho, Juliaca, Puerto Maldonado and Tacna.

Image: Aeropuertos Andinos del Perú (AAP)