George Best Belfast City Airport is on target to throw open the doors on phase one of its £6m expansion this weekend.

The new facilities, due to be unveiled on Sunday, will include a new departure lounge on the first floor capable of handling 12,000 passengers per day, new shops and restaurants.

The retail space will be increased by 60% and new commercial tenants will include World Duty Free, WH Smith, Bushmills Bar, Harvest Market restaurant and Lavazza Coffee. The new units have also created 20 jobs.

In a further boost, work on new security search facilities at the airport is also due to be completed before Christmas.

Building contractor McLaughlin & Harvey has been working on site 24 hours a day since June to ensure the first phase is completed on time.

Brian Ambrose, chief executive of George Best Belfast City Airport said: “Passengers will see a remarkable difference when departing the airport. This significant private investment will enhance the customer experience as we aim to stay ahead of the curve in accommodating increasing passenger numbers.”

According to the latest results registered with Companies House, Belfast City Airport has significantly increased its capital spend despite the economic downturn.

Full year results to the end of December show capital spend in 2008 increased to £6.8m compared to £1.2m in 2007.

Although pre-tax profits at the airport have fallen by £1.1m, it still made a profit of £1.3m last year. Turnover also slipped from £19.3m in 2007 to £16m last year.

The latest Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures show that George Best Belfast City Airport saw a 7.9% increase in passenger numbers in October compared to the same month in 2008 — the only Northern Ireland airport to experience a rise. Rivals Belfast International Airport saw an 11% decrease in October, while City of Derry Airport witnessed a 25.4% decrease in October.

By the end of this year approximately 42,000 flights courtesy of bmi, flybe, Ryanair and Aer Arann will have flown in and out of George Best Belfast City Airport, carrying more than 2.5 million passengers.

Mr Ambrose said: “We are the only UK airport of any size to have growth and it has been a tough old year for the industry.”

He added: “We had prepared all our shareholders that we did not expect to hit all our targets. However, due to a combination of factors it looks like we have bucked the trend and will hit all our final targets. We have also had the confidence to go ahead with substantial investment.”