Adelaide International Airport (ADL/YPAD), Australia

Adelaide International Airport, located four miles west of the city, has become the most modern and efficient passenger terminal in Australia. This is partly due to a new terminal, the multi-user integrated terminal (MUIT), built by Adelaide Airport Limited (AAL).

Adelaide Airport is operated by AAL under a long-term 99 year lease from the Commonwealth Government. As part of its bid for the lease, AAL gave a commitment to develop a plan for the MUIT which combines the previously separate domestic and international terminals in one building. With the new terminal opened in October 2005, AAL will recover the 'aeronautical' component of the costs of the MUIT and associated facilities through a charge on passengers (a Passenger Facility Charge (PFC)). The PFC is calculated on a per-trip basis.

During the period 2000-02 the airport handled 4.6 million passengers and by 2008 had experienced an overall 65% increase in passenger figures. This number is expected to increase to 6.7 million by 2012 and 8.2 million by 2017. The new MUIT terminal is designed to cater for more than five million passengers a year and currently employs a 600-strong workforce.

MULTI-USER INTEGRATED TERMINAL DESIGN

The MUIT, started in November 2003, was outfitted during 2005 and opened for operations in October 2005 by John Howard, the then Australian Prime Minister. The new terminal construction is adjacent to the existing Adelaide International Terminal and was designed to meet the needs of domestic, international and regional travellers. Air New Zealand introduced three new direct flights from Auckland to Adelaide in March 2006.

The new 75,000m² facility (750m x 110m) has two storeys and a mezzanine level and includes state-of-the-art passenger facilities and security systems, retail areas (3,400m² with 33 shops and eight food and drink outlets) and full amenity public and airline lounges, as well as 14 state-of-the-art glass-sided aerobridges linking aircraft directly to the terminal.

The new terminal is able to process over 3,000 passengers an hour at full capacity and will have facilities to service up to 27 aircraft simultaneously (including the new A380 aircraft).

The departure area incorporates 42 check-in desks for use by all airlines, equipped with common user terminal equipment (CUTE). The terminal is equipped with nine automated baggage carousels (five in arrivals and four in departures).

The layout and interior design of the terminal is intended to promote a contemporary atmosphere to provide a new gateway to South Australia.

AIRPORT EXPANSION CONSTRUCTION

Construction began with earthworks and drainage systems and with the construction of a system of steel piling, which was completed by April 2004. The structural steel work was well underway by the middle of May 2004 and further contractors were appointed for additional work. The structural steel, consisting of 5,000t of material, cost A$16m.

AAL requested that the building's frame be scaled to provide for projected passenger numbers until 2010.

The terminal was designed in a modular fashion which allows for incremental expansion as the demand increases. The terminal also includes 120,000m² of aircraft pavement for taxiing aircraft and aircraft servicing.

The 14 glass-sided aerobridges, the first of their kind to be installed at an Australian airport, were supplied by the Spanish company TEAM for A$10m. The aerobridges extend from 26m to 47m, are 3.6m wide and weigh over 37t each. The final three aerobridges were installed and operational by the end of August 2005. Phil Baker, AAL managing director, stated that, "the 14 aerobridges will be used for international, domestic and regional flights and allow passengers to view the Adelaide Hills and the city as they board or disembark their aircraft."

AIRPORT EXPANSION LANDSCAPING WORK

The existing melaleuca, swamp oak and swamp mallet tree plantings were removed and were replaced with approximately 150 red ironbark trees, with groundcover plants consisting of 5,000 fan flowers.

The plantings are irrigated entirely using reclaimed water from the storm drainage system and are drought-resistant. The plantings were designed to increase security and promote a native flora landscape theme for the new terminal.

AIRPORT IT

SITA installed its open standard Airport Connect suite of IT solutions at the airport in a contract worth A$4.4m. This provides increased flexibility to the airport control systems and allows consolidation of technology into a single network. Airport staff are able to interconnect a wide range of devices including PDAs, PCs and mobile phones to carry out their work.

The airport is also a WiFi hotspot, since Internode installed a free, public use network at the airport in 2006.

NEW ADELAIDE PROJECTS IN 2007

In July 2007 a further expansion project was announced for the MUIT terminal at Adelaide. The plan will include the addition of two new gates at the north eastern end of the terminal and at least one of them will be equipped with a glass aerobridge.

In addition the project will involve the demolition of the old international terminal to provide more parking and manoeuvring space for regional airlines to taxi and park their planes. Regional planes will be able to park much nearer to the centre of the airport and passengers will have less distance to walk to the arrivals area and baggage hall.

Phil Baker, managing director of the airport said, "Adelaide Airport has experienced record growth in passenger numbers, and future growth is expected to be just as strong. The growth has been across the board from international, domestic and regional air traffic, and this expansion will allow us to provide for all of these services."

In June 2007 the new taxi driver rest facility came into operation at the airport. The new 160m² facility has indoor and outdoor seating, vending machines, toilets showers and a changing room is located towards the north east of terminal one. There are also flight information display screens so drivers know when flights are arriving.

There are other changes afoot for taxi drivers with the relocation of the taxi waiting area, which may include providing taxi drivers with their own dedicated airport entry and exit point from Richmond Road at Netley.

ADELAIDE AIRPORT SOLAR PROJECT

In 2008 Adelaide Airport completed its airport solar project. The $1m project includes a 114kW system on the terminal 1 roof using 760 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Covering 1,170m², the panels will generate enough energy to power 30 typical houses each year.

The emissions-free energy generated from the panels is fed into the electricity supply grid and directly supplements the mains electricity consumed within the terminal building for air conditioning, lighting, appliances and mechanical plant.

The PV solar panels were supplied by BP Solar, while the project was funded by the South Australian Government and is managed by AAL.

The system marks Adelaide as one of the first major airports to generate solar power and it is also the second-largest rooftop solar PV system in Australia.

FUTURE PROPOSALS FOR THE AIRPORT

Future proposals for the airport and the land surrounding it include the redevelopment and expansion of cargo areas, new offices, warehousing and light industrial and aviation industrial areas in the airport's east precinct.

Further developments may include a golf course and the development of residential, sheltered housing and retail areas. The airport bus service transit may in future development phases get a new terminal. A purpose designed livestock transfer area with quarantine facilities is also under consideration for the cargo area of the airport.

ADELAIDE AIRPORT LIMITED

Members of the AAL consortium that successfully bid for Adelaide Airport included: Manchester Airport, Serco Australia, Unisuper, Macquarie Bank, Local Government Superannuation Scheme, Legal and General Financial Services, John Laing Investment, National Australia Bank Asset Management and Hansen Yuncken Pty Ltd.

The consortium paid A$362m for a 99-year lease to operate Adelaide Airport and Parafield, Adelaide's airport for small aircraft.

AIRPORT EXPANSION CONTRACTORS

The general building contractor for the project was Hansen Yuncken. The architect responsible for planning and design was Hassell. Concrete and substructure work was carried out by Ballestrin Concrete Construction. Earthwork and channelling work for storm water was carried out by Bardavcol. Reinforcing steel and pre-cast concrete work was carried out by the Bianco Group.

Roofing and cladding work for the terminal was done by Cladding and Roofing Contractors P/L and also by Linear Roofing Contractors using Fielders linear roofing technology. Aluminium for cladding and façades (interior and exterior) was supplied by Kingswood Aluminium.

Structural steel work was carried out by Manuele Engineers and Samaras Group (supplier). Civil engineering work was done by Mattson Constructions. Steel pilings for the new building were put in by McMillan Contracting. Hydraulic works were carried out by Smith Brothers Plumbing.

Fire protection equipment was supplied and installed by Fire Fighting Enterprises. Air conditioning equipment was supplied and installed by Frigrite Air Conditioning. Elevators were supplied and installed by Kone Elevators. Electrical installations were carried out by Nilsen Electrical (SA).

Escalators for the building were supplied and installed by Schindler. Aerobridges were supplied by Spain's Technologia Europea Aplicada Al Movimiento (TEAM). The project provided employment for 130 contractors, working a six-day week. Many of the contractors employed were local.