Dive Brief:
- Salt Lake City International Airport officials announced Wednesday that the facility's scheduled renovation will cost $350 million more than expected, bringing the total cost for the project to $2.9 billion, according to the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
- Officials said that a doubling of annual construction activity to $5 billion in Salt Lake City and the resulting higher costs have driven up labor and material bids since the initial estimate was established in 2015.
- The Department of Airports caught the increases early enough to seek budget amendment approvals from the Salt Lake City Council, the Terminal Redevelopment Program (TRP) advisory board and airlines.
Dive Insight:
The original renovation estimate was $1.86 billion, but in May, airport officials announced that they were adding a $740 million concourse to the project, bringing the revised total — before this latest announcement — to $2.6 billion. The airport's current configuration was set up to accommodate only 11 million passengers per year, but it currently serves 22 million.
The Department of Airports said it currently has 80% of the TRP's first-phase contracted out, so there won't be additional price increases for that work. The new terminal and other work is slated for completion in 2020. No local taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the project. Instead, officials said the airport will utilize revenue bonds, passenger fees, rental car taxes and federal grants.
Airports around the country are increasing capacity as passenger numbers, according to the International Air Transport Association, are expected to double by 2035. The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority recently approved its own terminal project, valued at $1.8 billion. PCL Construction has been tapped to build the first phase, which includes up to 21 new gates, a parking garage and a ground transportation facility. Kiewit Turner will handle construction of a landside terminal. This addition will allow the airport to serve 15 million more customers than it does now.
Orlando joins other major airports increasing capacity, including Chicago, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and Denver.