New seaplane dock opens in Split

A station in the Port of Split for hydroplanes of the European Coastal Airlines (ECA) was formally inaugurated on Wednesday with Deputy Prime Minister Branko Grcic attending the ceremony.

A station in the Port of Split for hydroplanes of the European Coastal Airlines (ECA) was formally inaugurated on Wednesday with Deputy Prime Minister Branko Grcic attending the ceremony.

Being the investor of this project, the European Coastal Airlines (ECA), a seaplane operator based in Zagreb, was given a 10-year-long concession for using the downtown Split station consisting of a 30-metre-long pontoon plus a 300-metre long runway to cater two hydroplanes.

Grcic expressed satisfaction with the return of seaplanes to the biggest Croatian Adriatic city after 70 years, and added that this newly-opened facility would help promote Split as a destination suitable for tourists.

The CEO of European Coastal Airlines, Klaus Dieter Martin,0 called on foreign entrepreneurs to invest into Croatia.

He admitted that bureaucracy was a bit complicated in Croatia, nevertheless, one should not give up plans of investment into this country.

This year, ECA intends to invest some EUR 20 million in Croatia.

Currently, the seaplane dock in Split caters for planes connecting this city with Jelsa on the island of Hvar as well as with the island of Lastovo and the Istrian coastal city of Pula.

To date, ECA has built seaplane docks in Divulje outside Split, in Jelsa, Pula, Rab and Lastovo, and plans to build such stations in Vela Luka on the island of Korcula, Novalja on the island of Pag and in Mali Losinj on the island of Losinj.

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