The airport's capacities will increase from 700 passengers an hour to 1,800, Slovenia's Economic Development and Technology Ministry said in a press release on Thursday after receiving the Commission's decision.

The new, 31,200 square metres big terminal is to be built next to the existing passenger terminal. Together, they will amount to 36,086 square metres and will be connected by footpaths.

The investment includes the construction of the new four-storey building and the renovation of a part of the existing terminal.

"This will improve accessibility, quality of services and efficiency. The new terminal will allow for a complete separation of arrivals and departures and of Schengen and non-Schengen travellers," the ministry said.

The contractor chosen in a public tender that has already been issued will have until 15 January 2015 to complete the project.

The existing passenger terminal was built in 1973 with the capacity of 500,000 passengers a year. The terminal has been upgraded several times due to increasing passenger numbers.

The biggest modernisation was carried out in 2007, when the terminal was be upgraded to meet Schengen zone demands. This was however not enough to prevent bottlenecks, as the airport handled 1.4 million passengers in 2010.