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Auckland Airport has unveiled its plan to expand its airfield, representing the next phase of its multi-billion pound infrastructure development programme designed to revitalise the airport over the next decade.
Over the next three years more than 250,000m2 of land is set to be converted into new airfield space at the western end of the New Zealand airport beside the international terminal. The project is expected to expand the airfield’s surface area by 18%. The new airfield will be built to enable it to accommodate the world’s largest passenger planes with wingspans of 65m to 80m.
New Zealand-based construction firm CPB Contractors has been named as the preferred contractor for the project. Earthworks are expected to begin this year and to be completed by late 2021.
Auckland Airport general manager for airport development and delivery André Lovatt said: “This is the beginning of a series of truly transformational projects at Auckland Airport. The complete development programme of work we are embarking on will yield some really great benefits and enable us to accommodate the 40M passengers and 260,000 flights that are expected by 2044.”
He added: “Auckland Airport is working hard to grow New Zealand’s success in travel, trade and tourism, and this project is a critical piece of the puzzle in enabling our future masterplan. The remote stands are designed to give us some head room, so that one day they can become physically connected gates to the terminal, as growth in airline and passenger numbers demand it over time.”
Auckland Airport is New Zealand’s largest airport. It handled 21M passengers and 178,775 flights in the year to the end of March – both marking an increase of around 3% on the previous year.
The airfield development represents the first of eight major infrastructure projects Auckland Airport will be working on across the next decade and follows the completion of major upgrades to the international terminal over the last four years.
The eight major projects forming the base of Auckland Airport’s broader programme of work include the development of a taxiway and remote stand airfield development; a second runway; a new cargo facility; a new international arrivals area; and a new domestic jet terminal.
Among the eight projects are also plans to rejuvenate the airport’s current domestic terminal, further develop the road network north of the terminals, and to reconfigure its international forecourt drop-off and pick-up facility.
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