New airport to be erected north of Rome

Viterbo, a steadily growing bedroom community 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Rome will have an airport.

Rome now depends heavily on Leonardo da Vinci airport, near the seaside town of Fiumicino, which serves the majority of air travelers in the area, as well as Ciampino airport, on the city's outskirts, which in recent years has seen an increase in flights by low-cost carriers.

Transport Minister Alessandro Bianchi announced the choice of Viterbo, and predicted the new airport would be ready to handle at least 6 million passengers a year by 2020.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted Bianchi as saying that an exact timetable and precise costs of the project would now be worked out.