$12.7m airport upgrade to begin

Tauranga Airport’s $12.7m terminal upgrade is about to begin. File photo.

It will be business as usual at Tauranga Airport as the passenger terminal undergoes a $12.7m expansion and refurbishment over the next 15 months.

This development was approved in 2015 when Tauranga City Council reviewed the Airport Master Plan, which showed the Terminal was operating at capacity and needed to expand to keep pace with the growth of Tauranga.

The successful tenderer is Naylor Love Construction Ltd, a privately owned, national construction company founded in Dunedin in 1910, says airport manager Ray Dumble.

'The project is in the mobilisation stage at present with plans to start work late October and completion due December 2018.”

The floor area of the Terminal will more than double from 1700m2 to 3800m2. This will include developing separate check in and arrival areas and increasing space for back of house operations, allow for future upgrades and a new, larger Air New Zealand Regional Lounge.

The new check in area will have state of the art check in kiosks, a baggage drop belt and a new externally accessed courier and cargo office. The improvements will also result in a shorter walk from the Terminal for boarding and the Airport Café will be increased and improved.

The expansion will accommodate the increase in Air New Zealand passenger volumes and provide for other regional network operators to fly in and out of Tauranga, says Ray.

'The expansion of the terminal will provide us with an internationally competitive regional airport and comes about through high levels of collaboration with the airline industry,” says Ray.

Air New Zealand welcomes the upgrade says the airline's Regional Affairs Manager Ian Collier.

'Tauranga is a key destination for Air New Zealand and one we're focussed on continuing to grow. We welcome the upgrade and expansion of the Tauranga Airport Terminal building and look forward to continuing to work closely with Tauranga City Council as it progresses,” says Ian.

Local Iwi have the role of developing better welcoming and farewell messaging along with creating artwork that will tell a story about some of the local Iwi's history and culture. There will also be coverage of the history of Tauranga Airport dating back to its opening in January 1939.

'The project has a number of challenges not least driving piles in the existing Terminal building down to a depth of 27m due to ground conditions,” says Ray. 'Another challenge will be to keep the Terminal operating as normal as possible during construction, with the least amount of inconvenience to the public, tenants and operators. Significant planning has gone into this aspect of the project to date.”

The expansion is intended to meet capacity demands up to and beyond 2027. The project requires no rate funding. The interest and debt servicing will come from the Airports current cash reserves and the Airports commercial revenues going forward.

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9 comments

What happened...

Posted on 14-09-2017 10:24 | By penguin

...to the promise of more flights using the larger ATR 72 aircraft, heralded with great enthusiasm some time ago?


How soon

Posted on 14-09-2017 11:17 | By dave4u

before we can fly international from here???


@ dave4u

Posted on 14-09-2017 12:10 | By MISS ADVENTURE

VERY unlikely, Air NZ wotn want that as the get heaps of money from the 25 minute flight, usually more than to floy over teh ditch (where there is competition.


Larger ATR-72

Posted on 14-09-2017 14:13 | By MISS ADVENTURE

That will happen as long as numbers keep rising. Air NZ will not want to overflow the market with to many seats available, the rip off prices will then drop., cant have that.


Shocker spending?

Posted on 14-09-2017 14:15 | By MISS ADVENTURE

The Tauranga Airport makes a loss of around $1.5 million a year now, this extra spend and debt will add perhaps $1-5-2.0 million more to that. Just another burden for ratepauers ... huge airfares, huge debt and huge losses.


A shorter walk from the terminal?!!

Posted on 14-09-2017 20:38 | By pnicky

It's only about a 30 metre walk now! You can practically touch the plane from the observation area. Have people complained about the extensive hike? Maybe that's why the cafe needs to be expanded. People feel they need to prepare a packed lunch for the long journey.


Rotorua

Posted on 14-09-2017 21:19 | By overit

has the same problem. They trialled direct flights to and from Sydney and that was a loss.


airport upgrade...new site needed before upgrade

Posted on 16-09-2017 14:55 | By moanasongbird

a new site for thenairport is urgently needed before any money is wasted on an upgrade....it is crazy having a busy? airport in close proximity to tankfarms, fertiliser works etc...a major catastrophe just waiting to happen ....wake up tauranga city. create a new larger airport out near the end of the new eastern link road..speedy access,mplenty of room to expand in the future..


Miss Adventure

Posted on 16-09-2017 15:18 | By waiknot

As I understand it, the rental earned from businesses on Airport land covers losses made from airport core services. Also the business that would be lost from Tauranga without an Airport needs to be factored into the councils expenditure. Put simply TGA needs an airport.


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