Mes: julio 2018

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Bidders sought for airport developments in Mozambique

Last week, a new international tender was launched for the concession, construction, operation and development of commercial infrastructures at Maputo, Beira and Nacala airports.

It is an effort to adapt national databases to the global trend of transforming airports into real business centres and creating conditions of comfort for passengers.

In this context, the Ministry of Transport and Communications is invited to express its interest in the development of partnerships for the development and operation of hotel and light infrastructure, business and entertainment centres, commercial and social activities, as well as for the production of energy from renewable sources.

At Maputo International Airport there is a possibility of building a shopping mall on the same level as the Mall Bay, fuel pumps and service rooms, as well as business apartments.

In La Beira, the Government is investing in the construction and operation of a three-star hotel and a vehicle service station, while in Nacala, in addition to a hotel infrastructure, a shopping mall and a renewable energy plant can be developed.

As for the real estate projects, the company’s president, Emanuel Chávez, was elected president of the Board of Directors for the projects to be carried out at the terminals in Maputo, Beira, Nampula and Nacala.

As mentioned above, it is in progress for the production of director-plans for the other airports, as well as for the former Costa del Sol airfield in the city of Maputo.

The Costa del Sol project is being implemented in partnership with a Mozambican real estate development company, to then move on to an effective development phase.

Previously, at Maputo International Airport, there was a bidding process for the award of a five-star hotel and shopping mall, where contracts were signed.

Source: Jornal Domingo. Mozambique

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Thailand: Airports upgrades gain altitude

Expansion plans for Don Mueang and Chiang Mai international airports have cleared a major hurdle for the projects to get under way at a combined cost of Bt53 billion.

The Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) gained the go-ahead for the ambitious plans from its board at a meeting on Wednesday. An anonymous source from AOT said the third phase of work at Don Mueang airport – Bangkok’s No.2 international gateway – will cost Bt37.59 billion. The first phase of expansion at Chiang Mai International Airport will cost Bt15.82 billion. The construction of a passenger building on the site of the car park of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA) will have a budget of Bt207.11 million. After receiving the AOT board’s approval, these projects under the master plan for airports will be proposed to the Ministry of Transport and the National Economic and Social Development Board before they are forwarded to the Cabinet for approval.

The third phase of the Don Mueang airport development project is scheduled to start this year, with work continuing until 2024, with the aim of boosting its annual capacity from 30 million passengers to 40 million. The old passenger terminal building and concourse No.6 will be dismantled and the new 155,000-square-metre international passenger terminal building 3 will be constructed to accommodate 18 million passengers a year. Later, the passenger terminal building 1 will be improved for domestic routes and domestic passengers will be able to use services at the passenger terminal building 2. Once completed, both passenger terminal buildings will have an annual capacity of 22 million passengers.Expansion works Under the third phase of the development plan, Don Mueang airport’s bays will increase from 114 to 142, with a plan to widen lanes and increase the number of parking spaces from 4,475 cars to 5,736. For the Chiang Mai airport development project, work is due to begin this year and continue until 2022. It is aimed at boosting annual capacity from 8 million passengers to 16.5 million. While the airport’s taxiways and aprons will be built with a plan to increase the number of bays from 12 to 31, an international passenger terminal building will be constructed. The existing passenger terminal building will be shifted to service domestic routes Under the first phase, an office building with car parks, a building for utilities and an overpass to separate incoming and outgoing passengers will be built. The pipeline system for aircraft will also be expanded. The parking areas will be enlarged to accommodate 3,000 cars. The existing capacity is for 800.

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Vietnam: Sapa Airport construction proposed

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai has proposed the Ministry of Transport build a civilian and military airport in Sapa.

Under the proposal, Sapa Airport will have a total cost of around VND5.7 trillion (USD251 million), excluding costs for military equipment. It will be located on a site of 371 hectares at Cam Con Commune, Bao Yen District.

Of the total capital, roughly VND4.75 trillion will be used for the first phase of the project which is expected before 2020 to build the airport with the capacity of 560,000 passengers and 600 tonnes of goods per year. It could serve A320 and A321 aircraft.

The remaining capital will be pumped for the second phase scheduled until 2030, aiming to upgrade the airport’s capacity to 1.5 million passengers and 2,880 tonnes of cargo per year.

The provincial people’s committee has also recommended two ways to raise investment.

The people’s committee has proposed the Ministry of Transport build the project by using the state budget or private investment sources or alternatively the province would have to raise investment from the private sector.

Note: Lào Cai  is a city in the Northwest region of Vietnam. It is the capital of Lào Cai Province. The city borders the city of Hekou Yao Autonomous County, in the Yunnan province of southwest China. It lies at the junction of the Red River (Sông Hồng) and the Nanxi River (Yunnan) approximately 160 miles (260 km) northwest of Hanoi.

Source: Vietnamnet

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Malta Airport planning €40 million terminal expansion

Malta International Airport is planning a €40 million terminal expansion, aimed at equipping the airport with more check-in desks, and increasing circulation and seating space.

The airport hopes to have a fixed set of designs for the expansion by the end of this year, MIA CEO Alan Borg announced today.

Borg said that a new apron will also be constructed, and the airport has already been in contact with architectural firms with a view to kick-off the project immediately.

The new aircraft parking area – which will require a multimillion euro investment, the final figures of which are not yet available – will be located on land lying between aprons 8 and 9, and will entail the biggest development of operational areas since the company’s privatisation.

The apron will be able to accommodate seven Code C aircraft (Boeing 738 or Airbus A320) or up to four Code E aircraft (Boeing 777)

Borg added that work on a multi-storey car park, which will create an additional 700 parking spaces, should start in October.

Passenger traffic growth outstrips competitors

Around 6.77 million passengers are expected to pass through the airport’s terminal by the end of the year, marking an increase of 13% over 2017, Borg highlighted.

Passenger traffic for the first half of the year grew by over 16%, more than any of MIA’s competitor airports, with the indications being that 2018 will go down on record as the airport’s eight year of uninterrupted traffic growth.

Borg said that Malta was also leading the way amongst its peers when it came to connectivity increases, registering a growth of 219% in connections over a 10-year span.

All core markets were performing “extremely well”, Borg underscored, with passengers from the UK and Italy increasing by 15 % in the first half of this year compared to the previous period last year. Germany saw a 12% increase, France 17% and Spain a 27% rise.

Brexit remains a challenge

Potential changes to travel to and from the United Kingdom, due to Brexit, remain a challenge for the airport and for the European market in general, Borg noted.

“If there is a hard Brexit, we fear a slowdown in the UK market,” he said.

Political uncertainty in other major EU source markets – such as Italy and Germany – could also potentially could also have a bearing in future passenger flows.

The economic deceleration in Europe, the price of oil and rising costs coupled with increased competition are other area which might be challenging, Borg said.

Malta Tourism Authority executive chairman Gavin Gulia, said that, notwithstanding Brexit, the trends remained positive.

“These last two years have seen growth in the English market, despite Brexit already having been on the cards. We need to look at it positively, but not be bullish,” he said.