Greece has been upgrading its airport facilities to handle an increasing number of tourists visiting the country, one of the world's top holiday destinations.

Last year Ariadne Airport Group, a joint venture between India's GMR Airports and Greek contractor GEK Terna, was awarded the contract to build the new 520-million-euro airport in Kasteli, Crete.

The group will hold a 54% stake in the build-operate-transfer project, with Greece taking up the rest. The new facility will replace Crete's Heraklion airport which struggles to handle 8 million passengers annually, mainly tourists.

Since 2009, Greece has made several attempts to find investors for the airport but a debt crisis that started at the end of that year, and eased only in 2015, turned potential suitors away.

The new 28-year EIB loan to the Greek government will now allow construction works to kick off.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Editing by Mark Heinrich)