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 euros.

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

Andrew Benitz, Director of local real estate specialists, Titan Properties, comments, “Huelva is the fastest growing destination for golf tourism in Spain and mega golf resorts such as Costa Esuri fringed with residential property are driving thousands more visitors to our striking coastline with its pine-backed sandy beaches and stringent environmental standards. An additional International Airport is both logical and intrinsic to the Coast’s future growth and the news that Huelva has the official ‘nod’ 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. It states that “the lack of air access for these types of tourists limits the tourism growth of the province”. This leaves Málaga, Cádiz or the Portuguese Algarve with a competitive advantage, but all is to change. The existing 700 metre runway will be replaced by a 2,400 metre 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.

For further information on property within the Huelva region, starting from as little as 54,505 euros for an inland apartment at Jardines del Guzman, or 187,000 euros for a two bedroom apartment within 100 metres of the beach at Hoyo 19, Nuevo Portil, visit titan-properties.com.