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When he wrote at the end of February this year 15 minutesWhile the government was still considering the idea of a new airport between Vilnius and Kaunas, the Kaišiadorys district municipality had already booked 1.8 thousand. hectares of land near Žasliai. The farmers who work here said they felt hostage because the areas had already been limited, the areas would become industrial and they found out by accident.
Read more here: The new airport already has a place, but there is still no support: Žasliai farmers are in a fight
Other residents also complained about the lack of information about the airport: Some people, whose families have lived here for several generations, found out about the future airport only from the 15-minute article. According to them, if it is really decided to build an airport, up to 20 hamlets will have to be demolished and the old cemetery would be leveled with the ground.
Read more here: Fight for Žasliai airport: not only farmers would be affected, some 20 farms and cemeteries would have to be demolished
Thousands of jobs
However, the mayor of the Kaišiadorys district, Vytenis Tomkus, speaking about the possibilities of the airport six months after the first manifestations of dissatisfaction from the residents, says that the project is necessary for the district and would be of great use.
The mayor quotes Mantas Katinas, the head of “Investing in Lithuania”, who has said that the best strategy for the country’s growth is the appearance of a new airport. “So this project would be like a blind man’s grain for the Kaišiadorys district, as it would create 5 to 8 thousand jobs in areas such as hotels, restaurants, airport management, etc.
Sigismund Gedvila / 15min photo / Vytenis Tomkus
“One of the alternatives is being considered: the construction of a new domestic airport between Kaunas and Vilnius. Due to the limited development of the Vilnius airport, it is difficult to install a second runway in the urbanized area, near the border with Belarus, so that planes do not cross the border. Kaunas also has limited development opportunities, and Kaunas is not the capital, so the capitals would suffer a bit if the main airport were in Kaunas. Therefore, the option of building a new airport.
If it was decided to build a new airport on the territory of the Kaišiadorys district in 2030 or 2035, then the international Rail Baltica station would appear in our district, and this would give a great boost to the entire economy and development of the district. There would be hundreds of new jobs instead of hundreds, “said the mayor.
According to the Kaišiadorys district municipality head, this would be a completely new branch of activity in the district: “Now the district is dominated by agriculture and light industry: food processing, production, furniture, wood and some other branches. And here a strongly developed logistics, services and services sector would appear. We are willing to cooperate with the state in whatever way we can, to make every effort to ensure that, if there is such an opportunity, that airport emerges.
This would give a great boost to the entire economy and development of the district. There would be hundreds of new jobs instead of hundreds, said V. Tomkus.
Perhaps it would help to become the true city center, as we joked: the city center of Vilnius and Kaunas, and we are the center, offering work to returning students who go to study in Vilnius, Kaunas, other cities and they generally stay after school, because we don’t have a great option for those with higher education, with the exception of the public sector only, municipal institutions and, to a lesser extent, companies where high qualifications are needed. “
Residents will not weigh
The mayor recognizes that there are different opinions and moods among the population.
Photo by Lukas Balandis / 15min / Territory near Žasliai, reserved for the construction of the new airport
“There are some people who live there who may have that airport, but we as a municipality are really trying to take into account and balance the needs of both the state, our municipality and the population. In fact, many demands or requests from the population have been taken into account to reduce the area or not show the limits of the area where the airport could be located in the General Plan, since the higher-level land use planning documents provide for the preservation of the existing heritage with the least possible intervention. forests, ”said the mayor.
According to him, the municipality’s task is to balance needs. “But we cannot abandon such an important project, in the name of the wishes of a few neighbors or a few trees, etc.”, stressed V. Tomkus.
He also recalled that the municipality is not the main one in this process when deciding where the new airport should appear in Lithuania; Decisions will be made by the Government, the Seimas, which has already approved the airport in the Kaišiadorys district in the concept of the Lithuanian Master Plan. in the solutions of the Master Plan in preparation.
But we cannot abandon such an important project, in the name of the wishes of some neighbors or a few trees, etc., emphasized V. Tomkus.
The decision is in 2022
The mayor confirmed the recent presentation of Rail Baltica in Vilnius, where the new airport was also discussed.
“There was the Minister of Transport and Communications, Jaroslav Narkevičius, who said that in 2022 a decision is planned on the future development of the airports. As there is currently some investment in the Vilnius and Kaunas airports, their development, this investment will assess what benefits they bring, what needs are met and then will be addressed. We expect a decision to be made in 2022. Currently, there are no specific works: land redemption or the like. – It really does not happen. Until those decisions are in place and cannot happen, it would not make sense. However, we are preparing and there have been many discussions, they are still going on with the community and with the experts, what would be the benefits for the district of that, “said V. Tomkus.
Photo by Lukas Balandis / 15min / Territory near Žasliai, reserved for the construction of the new airport
He maintains that efforts are being made to find certain solutions and compromises with residents ahead of time, so that after the preparation of higher-level spatial planning documents, those processes run smoothly and there are as few disruptions as possible.
According to V. Tomkus, a lot of work has already been done: a point, an airplane, has already appeared on the general plan of Lithuania, which marks the possible location of the new airport in the Kaišiadorys district.
“Not somewhere in Elektrėnai or elsewhere, but in our district. Now our aim is to appear in the Lithuanian Master Plan solutions as well. Then, we will await the decisions of 2022 and all further works and processes will be carried out. In the General Plan of our district, which we update, we also make references to the General Plan of Lithuania.
The idea was to reserve a certain area so that the neighbors knew that the peasants would not start to build large buildings, but in the graphic representation we refused to do so, said the mayor.
The idea was to reserve a certain territory so that the residents knew that the farmers would not start to build large buildings and equipment that would later have to be redeemed by the state, but in the graphic representation we refused, leaving only descriptions and a reference to the general plan from Lithuania. there will be an airport here or not. Not from the wishes and desires of the municipality, but from the state. We are a municipality to the extent that, like Vilnius, while Kaunas fights, Šiauliai fights for its airport, we also fight for it, ”said the mayor.
V. Tomkus says that the municipality is also looking for another territory in the Kaišiadorys district: a free economic zone near Kruonis PSHP, where it is planned to attract data centers. Invest in Lithuania is said to be doing this, but the municipality is in contact with them to make the work more active.
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