Dive Brief:
- London City Airport officials have awarded global engineering and construction giant Bechtel a $480 million, five-year expansion contract, according to a company press release.
- Bechtel's work at the airport will include expanding the existing terminal, constructing a three-story passenger pier, adding seven airplane parking areas, or aircraft stands, and building a new taxiway.
- After the work is complete, the airport should be able to accommodate an additional 30,000 flight movements and handle 6.5 million travelers a year.
Dive Insight:
Airport construction has also ramped up in the U.S. recently, as airport officials look to upgrade their facilities to meet growing demand for improved services. Major projects underway include the $4 billion LaGuardia terminal project in New York, the $2.4 billion renovation of Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, NJ, and the $6 billion, 20-year renovation of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Bechtel has completed more than 40 airport projects in the last 10 years, including work at London Gatwick International Airport. The company also has a terminal project underway at Muscat International Airport in Oman.
Bechtel has several major global infrastructure projects underway. In February, the company won a contract from the Saudi Arabian government to manage $1 trillion of capital projects, which are part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 plan. The initiative is a reboot of major building activity after the Saudi government halted infrastructure construction in the third quarter of 2016 after discovering inefficiencies that had cost it up to $100 billion a year. The new constraint in spending was widely seen as a result of the drop in oil prices.
Bechtel's ties to Saudi Arabia are about 70 years old, and one of its major endeavors there is the Jubail city project. The company has been developing the one-time fishing village into a major port of 250,000 acres during the last 40 years. Jubail already has 140,000 workers in its various industries and plants, and Saudi officials have announced that the next phase of the city will add residential space and educational facilities to the mix.