Ready for take off
Vincent Kielty learns about the challenges of completing a brand new airport on a greenfield project site in preparation for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
The new King Shaka International Airport in Durban, South Africa, was first conceptualized in the 1970s, with construction beginning in 1973. By 1975, earthworks and a storm drainage system were complete; however, the project was halted in 1982 due to the economic slowdown at the time. In 2004, it was revived and work began again in August 2007, with the Ilembe consortium securing the bid on the R7 billion project.
The Ilembe consortium commissioned ACSA (Airports Company of South Africa) to an engineer, design, procure and construct (EPC) contract, with completion targeted for the end of 2009. Following this, ACSA will conduct a four-month testing and commissioning exercise before opening the airport on May 1, 2010.
The construction schedule is designed to meet the goal of providing a functioning airport to welcome the huge crowds expected for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. When complete, the airport will also serve as the catalyst for development of the larger trade port in the region and provide a hub for the booming KwaZulu-Natal economy. The regionÔÇÖs ability to handle both standard cargo as well as sensitive freight such as fresh produce will be increased, making South African products more competitive in global markets.
The airport development consists of airfield facilities and services, main motorway access and internal road networks, a fuel farm and related infrastructure, a new cargo terminal building, control tower and ancillary buildings with an impressive passenger terminal precinct designed to cater for 7.5 million passengers per annum. Once the new airport is fully operational, the current Durban airport will be decommissioned and all aviation business will be relocated to the new King Shaka International Airport.
The size of the R7 billion project is an important catalyst for economic growth in the province of KwaZulu-Natal and the country as a whole. At the peak of construction activity, there were more than 2,000 contractors and subcontractors on site along with 200 earth moving machines. The completed project is predicted to create over 150,000 jobs and is also the first greenfield airport to be designed and built in South Africa for more than 20 years. It offers the opportunity to create a world class, small to medium sized airport for the region and to create meaningful and sustainable advances in terms of both national industry and economic development within South Africa.
One of the biggest challenges facing the projectÔÇÖs stakeholders, however, has been its fast-track nature. ACSA has had an extremely tight delivery programme, resulting in the need for understanding and collaboration throughout the entire project team. Contracts have been on an acceleration programme, at times requiring the design team to work flat out, seven days a week, 20 hours a day, to ensure that the contract was not delayed.
This delivery model is new for an airport of this scale; traditionally, ACSA would have appointed consultants to undertake the design and these would have been split up into many packages. The contract for King Shaka Airport called for a design, build, construct and maintain package, otherwise known as a turnkey contract. Neither WBHO nor Group 5, the main players in the Ilembe consortium, could have achieved this alone; therefore, a key group of 16 companies was formed in order meet resource requirements. Ilembe was formed as a one-off, joint venture to balance capability and capacity with South African black economic empowerment (BEE) initiatives.
The fast-track nature of the project and the work of the individual consortium companies has created an atmosphere of collaboration and free sharing of ideas between stakeholders, something essential to completing a project of this magnitude within such a tight timescale.
One of the many unique aspects of the project is the air bridges to be employed at the new airport. ThyssenKrupp Airport Systems has developed a patented passenger boarding bridge especially for the Airbus A380 that will reduce boarding time and expensive standing time at the airport by allowing 555 passengers to board and disembark from the upper and lower decks of the plane at the same time. These air bridges were originally manufactured in Spain and then shipped to South Africa; ThyssenKrupp was chosen for this important aspect of the project based on its previous experience and reputation for superior quality and technology. The bridges are the outcome of decades of experience working with developers in the airport equipment industryÔÇöThyssenKrupp has installed over 3,500 units in airports around the world, with the ones at King Shaka International Airport having travelled the furthest to reach their destination.
The project also presented unique challenges in the local area. It has been crucial to preserve the sensitive neighbouring ecosystem, for example, with stringent management plans being mandated, managed and audited to achieve this. Further challenges also exist to uplift neighbouring communities and increase employment in previously disadvantaged neighbouring regions. The airport site is also in a wetland area, so responsibility was taken to monitor the daily construction activities on site and to ensure compliance with legislation and the environmental management plan.
The fast-track greenfield project is due for completion in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and has conformed with crucial environmental and social considerations. The successful completion of the project would not be possible without the constant and informed liaison between all project stakeholders and the atmosphere of collaboration created by ACSA and the Ilembe consortium.
As South Africa continues to develop as a nation, the King Shaka International Airport project will be seen as an important construction milestone and a key driver behind the economic growth of the Durban region.
