A massive $30 million is to be invested in the Le Bourget site in time for the 2005 Paris airshow.
In a pre-show presentation, Yves Bonnet, the show's commissioner-general, said this is additional to E12 million ($15 million) spent on the surrounding roads.
This follows an agreement with the Chambers of Commerce in Paris which now take responsibility for the show ground. It will be used for other major exhibitions between iterations of the famous airshow.
Jean Luc Joly, director general of show organiser SIAE, says there will be significant improvements in the showground. Hall 5 is to be rebuilt following a major fire which destroyed the old hall in January last year. "We have a temporary air-conditioned hall for this year - the sort of standard of a hall at Farnborough - and by 2005 a whole new hall will be in place," he says.
This year there is no Hall 1, but Hall 2 has been expanded. Hall 3 has become the "US pavilion."
Bonnet says that despite the current economic environment, the organisers expect the number of visitors to stand between the levels of the record 2001 show and those of 1999.
On its 50th anniversary, Joly says Le Bourget clearly demonstrates it is the world leader. "Other shows do well for regional reasons but none compare."
The organisers apologised for some of the problems that contractors and exhibitors experienced during the build-up days. "Security is very important for us and this has led to delays for people entering and leaving the show. I am sure everyone will understand," Bonnet says.
Source: Flight Daily News