Government of Iceland press-release
The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs has decided to increase the share capital of Icelandic national airport operator and ATC provider Isavia with 4 billion ISK (27.7 million USD, 25.5 million euro, converted by Islandsbanki), to ensure that the company launches an infrastructure project at Keflavik Airport early this year.
These projects that were planned for the current year but would have had to be postponed due to the fall in revenue that the company has suffered and the acceleration of other manpower-intensive projects planned in the years after 2023.
The estimated number of new jobs created for these projects amounts to about 50-125 jobs for each month until mid-2021. There will also be a number of secondary projects in the Suðurnes region related to extensive construction at Keflavik Airport.
The decision is in line with the government’s efforts to increase investment to counter the recession in the economy with profitable investments that increase labour demand.
“In the last few days, we have seen our worst forecast of unemployment become the reality that calls for fast but also informed decision-making,” says Bjarni Benediktsson, Minister of Finance and Economy. “In recent years, Isavia has been doing a lot of preparatory work regarding future development at Keflavik Airport which will support international flights to and from Iceland for the future. It is wise to continue construction at the airport to safeguard Iceland’s competitiveness when it comes to tourism. Therefore, we have made a decision to increase the share capital of the company so that it has scope to undertake projects that would otherwise have been postponed in the light of the circumstances.”
“The decision of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs to support the company allows us to embark on projects that we would not otherwise have had at this time,” says Sveinbjörn Indriðason, CEO of Isavia. “Not only does it create new jobs in the construction itself, but because of it, we can protect a large number of jobs within Isavia. The investment will also have a positive impact on the Suðurnes because many who live there work for us, and there will be a number of secondary projects in the area. This is extremely important for Isavia because it will help us emerge stronger from these difficult times and make the airport even more competitive in the future. “
Half of this ISK 4 billion goes to projects related to design and the rest will be used in construction. It is assumed that the additional funding will benefit a broad group of companies.
Then this operation will open the possibility of further construction at Keflavik Airport, sooner than otherwise, up to over 3 billion ISK. The total volume of investments related to this increase in share capital can, therefore, amount to over 7 billion ISK (48.7 million USD, 44.7 million euro, converted by Islandsbanki) over a two-year period.
