Site works for the first stage of $310 million worth of redevelopment at Adelaide Airport are expected to start in July, reports Chris Milne.
A major development plan for the airport should be completed by the end of January and made available for public comment in February, before being lodged with Infrastructure & Transport Minster Anthony Albanese.
Provided it is approved, work would begin in July on building a multi-storey car park, a pedestrian plaza with retail outlets at the front of Terminal One, and a new access road network, John McArdle, corporate affairs manager for Adelaide Airport Ltd, said.
The new car park will accommodate 2000 vehicles, compared with the present open-air capacity of 800.
McArdle said the first stage would cost between $90 million and $100 million.
The board had approved funding for further works over the next five years, including additional bays for jet aircraft, with two new aerobridges expected to be installed, and relocation within the expanded terminal of the regional passenger facility used by Regional Express.
Also in the plans is a new home for the historic Vickers Vimy aircraft, flown from England to Australia by local aviators Sir Keith and Sir Ross Smith in 1919.
As previously foreshadowed in Australian Aviation, the redevelopment will ban private vehicles from the front of the terminal, with new set-down and pick-up areas for passengers, under new security requirements.
Total costs for the five year plan are estimated at $310 million. The original T1 project cost $260 million, with the terminal opening in 2005.