The badly overloaded Prague–Ruzyně international airport will get some relief this fall when 10 more gates open Sept. 1, the first stage of a dramatic overhaul that will eventually see the inauguration of a full second terminal.

The number of gates will increase from 17 to 27, expanding the capacity of the prime Czech civilian airport by up to one-third, according to Czech Airports Authority (ČSL) General Director Hana Černochová. She said a newly opened pier, the structure that connects the departures area with the gates, will extend the existing facilities and be the first operating part of the new terminal, set to fully open in 2006.

"The newly opened facilities are part of what will soon be the biggest expansion of Ruzyně Airport," Černochová said.

Officials said the steady increase in passengers at Ruzyně each year finally triggered the need for a new terminal. Despite the projected capacity of the standing facilities, intended to clear 7.5 million people per year, the airport in actuality cleared 9.7 million passengers in 2004. Administrators expect further increases this year, and the number of travelers passing through Ruzyně per year could exceed 11 million, a figure that would place the Prague airport among the 30 largest in Europe.

In the first six months of the year, Ruzyně cleared nearly 4.9 million passengers, a growth of 15 percent over the same period last year, said ČSL spokeswoman Anna Kovaříková.

"Ruzyně is getting overcrowded," agreed Milan Holl, president of the Association of Aviation Manufacturers of the Czech Republic.

The record number of 76,793 takeoffs and landings at Ruzyně during the first half of the year — more than 500 a day — also encouraged the ČSL to start construction of a new runway, scheduled to open in 2007.

The new pier at Ruzyně will also increase retail space at the airport, officials said. The ČSL has begun signing leases to add duty-free shops and two cafés. By August, the ČSL had also signed leases with toyshop Sparky's and glass retailers Egermann and Blue Praha.

The new terminal will also accommodate a congress center that would, in an emergency situation, serve as a crisis center, distributing information to passengers or relatives of passengers.

The new terminal is set to open in early 2006, with an overall ČSL investment of about 8.5 billion Kč ($350.2 million). The construction of a third runway will cost an additional 5 billion to 7 billion Kč.

While officials financed the new terminal through a European Investment Bank loan, proceeds of the planned privatization of the ČSL should cover the cost of the new runway, officials said.

Transportation Minister Milan Šimonovský said that the ČSL, currently fully owned by the state, will take on the name Letiště Praha when the new gates open, and that the company will transform itself into a publicly listed company by the end of this year or early next year.

However, Šimonovský said the government is determined to keep a controlling stake in Letiště Praha, giving up only minority stakes on public stock markets.

Steps towards privatization should begin next year, Šimonovský said, including the company's appraisal and preparation of documents that present it to potential investors.