{"id":5036,"date":"2021-12-09T00:08:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T23:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/?p=5036"},"modified":"2021-12-09T23:20:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T22:20:33","slug":"santa-marta-between-the-caribbean-sea-and-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revistaitransporte.com\/santa-marta-between-the-caribbean-sea-and-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Marta: between the Caribbean Sea and the mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar International Airport is situated in the far north of the Republic of Colombia, 16.5 kilometres from the city of Santa Marta, capital of the department of Magdalena. The region\u2019s main tourist attractions include the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range, Tayrona National Park and the cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena, two of the country\u2019s most important conurbations.<\/p>\n
Opened some 60 years ago, in recent decades tourism and economic development in the region have caused airport traffic (primarily of domestic origin) to grow from 532,000 passengers in 2009 to 2.4 million in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.5%. To accommodate this growth, the airport was modernised in 2017 with new facilities such as a control tower, passenger terminal and car park.<\/p>\n
In recent decades, tourism and economic development in the region have driven growth in airport traffic, with 2.4 million passengers in 2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At present, the airport has one runway (01\/19), which is 1,700 metres long by 40 metres wide and accessed via two taxiways. There is an apron with six stands for parking commercial aircraft, two general-purpose aviation hangars, and a helicopter pad. The three-storey terminal building covers an area of 14,600 m2<\/sup>. There is also an underground car park for cars and motorcycles, and a surface-level car park for taxis and buses. Road access is via the Troncal del Caribe, one of the country\u2019s most important trunk roads.<\/p>\n
Despite these improvements, the investments that have been made in the Magdalena region to boost tourism mean that a growth in international traffic is expected over the coming years. This is reflected in the traffic forecasts in the Master Plan drawn up by the UTE APM Sim\u00f3n Bol\u00edvar consortium, which is led by Ineco and also includes the Spanish engineering firm Ivicsa. The Plan was approved by Colombia\u2019s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil, in December 2020.<\/p>\n
Future plans<\/h4>\n
The Master Plan is the centrepiece of the planning process for an airport. It sets out the path for development and growth based on different traffic forecasts. Taking the current situation as the starting point, a study is made of potential demand in different time horizons. The aim is to determine what infrastructure and services will be required, in accordance with international safety and quality standards, and when they will be required, along with an estimate of costs.<\/p>\n
The Plan also evaluates the impact of the airport\u2019s activities on its surroundings and coordinates actions with the aviation authorities, the local community, and local and regional administrations and public bodies. The final stage is approval of the Plan on the part of the state aviation authority (Aerocivil in the case of Colombia). In order to meet these objectives successfully, a Master Plan must be updated periodically, and whenever changes in demand require it to be modified.<\/p>\n
Ineco has over 20 years of experience in the drafting and updating of Master Plans: not only for the Aena network of Spanish airports, but also for countries such as Mexico and Kuwait.<\/p>\n