MADRID, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced a government investment of 2.4 billion euros (some 2.6 billion U.S. dollars) to expand the Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport in the capital city of Madrid.
The investment, whose importance "transcends borders," will be "the largest in a decade in airport infrastructure in Spain." The investment will allow the airport to become one of the biggest in Europe, with its capacity up 28 percent by 2031, Sanchez said at an international tourism fair in Madrid on Friday.
It will also help create thousands of new jobs and further increase Madrid's GDP, almost 10 percent of which is currently contributed by the airport, "a hallmark of Spain," he said.
The investment will strengthen Madrid's role as Europe's gateway to Latin America and develop its connections to Asia with new routes, he said. ■
