Prague - Building a second runway at Prague Airport might directly or indirectly create some 17,000 jobs across the country by 2020, according to a study on the project's macroeconomic impact.
The state-run airport, which seeks to further expand its capacity by adding a new runway parallel to the one used today, has ordered the analysis from the economists Tomáš Sedláček, Petr Zahradník and Jan Jedlička.
They have concluded that, besides generating thousands of new jobs, the project would also encourage business activities worth CZK 126 billion in the same period. By 2020, the country's GDP would be about 0.47 percent higher than without a new runway.
"New job opportunities will arise at construction companies and their suppliers, in related production sectors and services, as well as at Prague Airport itself, once the runway is completed," said Sedláček, member of the Czech government's national economy council.
More air traffic means more business
Zahradník described the project's cumulative effects, saying efficient airports help accelerate the economy, improve the quality of the business environment and boost the travel and tourism industry. Zahradník said an example is Brussels, where a number of multinational companies have their headquarters along the motorway going to the airport.
Jedlička said he and his colleagues had calculated the main macroeconomic indicators for two possible scenarios: with a new runway and without it. The trio used the Finance Ministry's estimates for the economy's performance until 2011; they came up with their own estimates for the following years.
If the runway is built, the study says, the country's economy will grow by some 4 percent per year starting in 2012, with an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent and a public sector deficit worth 1.4% of GDP.
The airport says it needs to go ahead with the project because it has reached the maximum capacity of the existing runway. It is estimated that the new runway could be completed by 2013 or 2014. Some civic groups oppose the plan saying it will increase noise and pollution.
