Frankfurt, Germany (PROTEXT/ots) - Fraport AG FrankfurtAirport Services Worldwide submitted its documentation for theregional planning procedure (Raumordnungsverfahren or ROV) onFrankfurt Airport's (FRA) expansion program today at theheadquarters of the Darmstadt regional administrative district.The ROV is an interdepartmental government procedure that willexamine the expansion program in terms of its regional planningand environmental compatibility. On February 8, 2000, Fraport AG informed the Hessian Ministerof Economic Development, Transportation and State Developmentabout its plan to enlarge Frankfurt Airport by expanding theexisting runway system. In his decision of April 10, 2000,regarding the ROV, the Minister made it conditional that FraportAG provides detailed environmental impact studies for all runwayoptions being submitted for the procedure. The ROV's goal is to examine the expansion program describedin the documentation to determine whether it complies withregional planning requirements. Once the president of theDarmstadt administrative district has established that thedocumentation is complete, the actual ROV procedure can begin.Local communities, other institutions of public interest, as wellas special agencies will be involved in the ROV. Furthermore,citizens can submit suggestions and express their concerns. Inaddition to a comprehensive description of the expansion project,the application contains a wide array of studies as well as 16expert opinions ranging from traffic forecasts to ecologicalconsiderations, such as the protection of birds and compatibilitywith the natural flora and fauna habitat. The comprehensivedocumentation comprises 15 binders with 5,000 pages of text and300 plans. The expansion plan focuses on enlarging the existing runwaysystem by adding a fourth runway and also on building a thirdterminal as well as other operational facilities that will berequired. Of all the options presented and examined in thedocumentation, Fraport AG prefers a new landing runway to thenorthwest of the airport site versus either a landing runway tothe northeast or a take-off and landing runway to the south ofthe airport. The option favored by Fraport AG would require thesmallest land area, cause the least noise impact and have thebest capacity values. For Fraport AG's Executive Board ChairmanDr. Wilhelm Bender, the ROV application represents a "furthermilestone in the expansion of Frankfurt Airport." Bender said:"We are on schedule and have every reason to be optimistic aboutsuccessfully completing this program, which is of greatsignificance for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region and our entireland. We are seeking open and fair dialogue with the peopleliving in FRA's vicinity and we will do everything within theconfines of our possibilities to make the impact tolerable. Inthis context we fully back the mediation results". Prof. Barbara Jakubeit, Fraport's Executive Board Member forAirport Development - thus responsible for the airport expansionprogram - again underscored the significance of air traffic forinternational competitiveness, growth and employment. Sheemphasized that "airport expansion is indispensable and, asopinion surveys have shown, this is how the majority of thepopulation sees it". In this context, she referred to a forecastcontained in last year's airport concept of the German federalgovernment, which says that air traffic will double in the next15 years. This forecast resulted in the German governmentdeciding on a demand-driven expansion of German airports. Thiswas also the reason why the Hessian government - in its statedevelopment plan 2000 - adopted the expansion of FRA's currentrunway system as a goal and why an overwhelming majority in theHessian parliament also decided in favor of airport expansion.With completeness of the documents established, the ROV will beable to start in October 2001. The legislator has stipulated aperiod of six months for the ROV. Thus, Fraport AG believes thatthe subsequent public plan approval procedure (zoning procedure)should be able to start in summer 2002. ots Original TextService: Fraport AG Internet: www.presseportal.de For MoreInformation, Please Contact: Fraport AG Frankfurt AirportServices Worldwide Attn: Robert A. Payne - Manager InternationalPress 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Tel.: +49 69 690 -78547(with voice mailbox) Fax: +49 69 690 -60548 E-Mail:r.payne@fraport.de Internet: www.fraport.de (click on "PressLounge")
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