AOT delays construction of Suvarnabhumi airport’s Terminal 2

Airports of Thailand (AOT) President Nitinai Sirismatthakarn says the latest AOT board meeting has decided to postpone the construction of Terminal 2 at Suvarnabhumi airport to allow more time for relevant studies to be finished.

The project of the country’s largest airport and major international air travel hub originally called for the construction of a third runway, the west-wing expansion of the existing passenger terminal and the construction of a second terminal.

The construction of Terminal 2 will be put on hold until decisions have been made by related agencies, including the ICAO and the Office of the Attorney General.

AOT’s board members have approved a short-term measure to boost Thailand’s aviation and tourism markets, by offering airlines which currently operate no international flights during 02:00-06:59 a.m., or airlines currently operating international services at Suvarnabhumi and Phuket airports to open new flights to or from both airports during such hours.

Participating airlines will receive a 50% discount for the landing fee and 200 baht in subsidy per passenger from 1 December 2018 until 31 March 2019.

Source: Pattaya Mail

Athens International Airport expansion project to meet the rising traffic

Cranes have reappeared in Athens International Airport, more than 20 years after its construction, Nikos Karagiannis notes in a recent report at ypodomes.com

This is the first sample of the investments that will be implemented in the future in order to meet the rising passenger traffic.

The so-called «small-scale» extension of «El. Venizelos» Terminal, the first since 1995, when the concession contract was first signed, commenced in August and construction works regarding the additional building are now in full swing. The completion of the first phase, which requires the operation of the new passport control points is set for May 2019, according to the schedule.

Its final form, that will include shops, will be revealed in May 2020. The contractor of the projects is AKTOR SA. The expansiion had an initial budget of 31m euros (VAT incl., excl. VAT: 25m euros) but the contract was closed at 18m euros (excl. VAT).

The contract includes the southwest extension of the existing Terminal, with new premises covering an area of 14,950 sq.m. The schedule is tight due to the advancing rise in passenger traffic (that reached 21.7m passengers in 2017) and the implementation of new EU security regulations according to which ID cross-checks must be carried out for all European citizens traveling to/from non-Schengen countries.

In terms of architecture and appearance, the new building will follow the style of the existing complex while it will provide more space for the development of retail stores, with several firms being interested due to the airport’s upward trend.

Source: Tornos News

Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport: New terminal design underway, private investor funded

On 11 October a tender to select the general contractor to perform reconstruction design for the international and domestic airlines passenger terminal of Tolmachevo airport was completed. The contract was awarded to Spectrum Group of Companies (Moscow). On 22 October the contract was signed between JSC Airport Tolmachevo and the company (LLC Spectrum Holding).

It should be reminded that the tender to select a contractor to perform a package of design works for «Reconstruction of the International and Domestic Airlines Passenger Terminal of NOVOSIBIRSK International Airport (Tolmachevo)» was launched on 7 September. It is planned to implement the reconstruction project by 2025 in two stages with the completion of the first, main stage in 2022. 11.5 billion rubles will be allocated from extra-budgetary sources for the design and construction of the passenger terminal until 2022. By 2022 the airport expects to increase passenger traffic to 10 million people a year.

Photo from www.nso.ru website

The general contractor is to plan all the reconstruction stages and submit project documentation with positive conclusion of state expertise by 30 October, 2019. Spectrum Group of Companies will also provide three variants of design projects for the terminal facade to the customer. It is planned to complete procurement procedures to select the general contractor for construction by the end of 2019.

The approximate total area of the passenger terminal after the implementation of two stages should be more than 100 thousand square meters.

Source: Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport News

Greece: Regional airports set for takeoff

The 14 regional airports across Greece that the German-led Fraport Greece group operates are showing significant prospects for their commercial development, such as the opening of more stores and food service points, given that the rise in passenger numbers and improvement of services at the terminals is convincing more companies to invest in them.

According to Giorgos Vilos, Fraport Greece’s commercial and corporate development director, the total area of commercial spaces for concession at the 14 terminals is expected to triple from 11,500 square meters today to some 33,000 sq.m. upon the completion of the ongoing investment program.

Almost half that (16,000-17,000 sq.m.) will concern new food service outlets, while 15,500 sq.m. will be covered by retail stores.

“Our objective is to enhance the variety of choices in all airports, both in food service and in consumption,” Vilos says.

A case in point is the recent agreement with US fast-food chain Burger King, which launched its first outlet in Greece at Rhodes Airport three months ago.

Of the 15,500 sq.m. available for stores, 12,000 sq.m. will be occupied by Hellenic Duty Free Shops, which parent company Dufry has agreed to expand from the existing 5,000 sq.m. The expansion is set to be completed in 2021.

At the 14 regional airports Fraport operates, five new terminals will be created and another five will be significantly expanded.

The total area of 200,000 sq.m. that they cover today will grow to 330,000 sq.m. when the works finish.

The biggest expansion concerns the largest of the 14 airports, Thessaloniki’s: From an existing area of 27,000 sq.m., Makedonia Airport is set to grow to 60,000 sq.m. The new terminal will be delivered by end-2020.

The terminal on Santorini is scheduled to triple in size, from 4,500 sq.m. to 15,600 sq.m.

Vilos said that Fraport Greece will invest a total of 1.25 billion euros over the course of the concession contract’s period, while state revenues will reach up to 10 billion.

Source: Ekathimerini.com