newstodate.aero

Apr 15, 2021 (newstodate): Airports have always been a hot topic in Greenland with a population of only some 56,000 inhabitants.
   One restraining factor has been financing, but politics play an equally crucial role.
   This unhealthful cocktail has hit not least the project for a new airport at Qaqortoq that has already been stalled since September 2020 as the outcome of a tender for the airport's runway made clear that the bids from the entrepreneurs by far exceeded the budget, requiring either a recalibration of the project, or reconsideration of its financing.
   A second tender was opened on January 7, 2021, still requiring construction of a 1,499 m runway - but now coupled to construction of the pertinent airport buildings in the optimistic hope that the combined solution might still land within the financial limits of the budget allocated to the project.
   The project owner, Kalaallit Airports has now completed the scrutiny of all incoming bids, but a decision and the announcement of the tender outcome will have to wait till a new government has been formed after the recent election that again altered the political composition of the parliament.
   Greenland is currently implementing a new airport infrastructure including reconstruction of the airports at Ilulissat and Nuuk that will have runways extended to 2,200m, and a new airport at Qaqortoq, currently served by a Helipad only, but planned to have a new airport with a 1,499m runway allowing for fixed-wing operations.