Malta International Airport has started excavation works for the construction of the €16m Business Centre by its subsidiary Sky Parks Development Ltd.

The new business centre is aimed for completion in the second half of next year.

MIA chairman Karin Zipperer said during the MIA annual general meeting this afternoon that following last year’s agreement with the anchor tenant, Vodafone, MIA is currently in discussions with other prospective tenants for the remaining retail and office space available for rent, amounting to over 10,000 square metres.

In his address to shareholders, Ms Zipperer said that recent investments by MIA had compensated for the decline in passenger figures.

"Permit me to emphasise that the achievement of 2.1% net profit alongside a 6.1% decrease in traffic is no mean feat," he said, adding that this, more or less, fell in line with the registered European average. (MIA in March announced a profit of €8.84m)

Ms Zipperer said that the MIA’s refurbishment and expansion project, which saw the commercial area extended by 2,000 square metres, had enhanced customer service and client satisfaction and yielded 24% in revenue from the retail and properties segment.

She regretted that as the aftermath of the international financial crisis began to abate and global markets started to show signs of recovery, the aviation industry received yet another hard blow with the disruption caused by the Icelandic volcanic ash.

"It is regrettable that just when our forecasts began to reflect positive trends, MIA lost some 35,000 passenger movements in just one week. We augur that volcanic activity will cease to linger on, not solely to erase the threat of volcanic ash on aviation traffic, but equally to ease the minds of air travellers who in the long run may effect the bookings perspective for the tourism industry in Malta, " Ms Zipperer said.

She said that MIA would continue to look forward to developments that may enable it to safeguard and support the tourism Industry.