Cork International Airport (ORK/EICK), Republic of Ireland

Aer Rianta is building a new terminal and other supporting infrastructure at Cork airport, Republic of Ireland. The 28,300m² expansion is being carried out in response to increasing passenger figures; a 13% increase from 2002 to 2003 and a 6% increase from 2001 to 2002.

In 2005, 2.729 million passengers used Cork Airport. The new terminal will have the capacity for 3 million passengers annually, with further expansion plans to cater for potential growth of up to 5 million passengers each year; the existing terminal’s capacity is a mere 1.1 million passengers per year.

The Cork airport development programme requires an investment of €144.3 million. The ground-breaking ceremony on 26 June 2003 was attended by Prime Minister Bertie Aherne. The terminal is scheduled to open for operations on 10 May 2006.

CONTRACTORS AND CONSTRUCTION

The contact for the expansion was awarded to Jacobs International Engineering, in conjunction with airport designers HOK International. Jacobs will be responsible for project management, architecture and engineering. The building contract was awarded to Rohcon Ltd, who are responsible for the construction of the terminal building and other infrastructure construction. Edward Cotter Associates are the quantity surveyors on the project.

The new terminal building has 25,000m² of floor space – more than double that of the existing one. The building is being built slightly to the north of the existing terminal building and includes 32 check-in desks, new state-of-the-art hold baggage screening facilities, five luggage belts (two outward and three incoming), new bar and catering facilities and three airbridges.

In addition, a new 1,200-space, three-storey car park with a covered connection to the terminal building was constructed at a cost of €15 million. Further to this, the surface car parking facilities have been extended to include a further 1,500 spaces and upgraded to give more accessibility. The fire station is being upgraded along with utility services such as power and water.

ROOF AND BUILDING MATERIALS

The terminal building is constructed of glass, steel and timber to make the best use of natural light and to maximise the space available in the terminal. The roof of the terminal building was subcontracted by Jacobs Engineering to Buro Happold, a specialist structural engineer, and HOK International, a specialist architect. The roof is constructed of timber and rod bowstring beams on four-limbed tree columns supporting a lightweight single-span curved roof deck.

OTHER WORK IN PROGRESS AND RECENTLY COMPLETED

Construction has already been completed on a new €11.5 million apron extension and new taxiways at the airport including new parking stand facilities for wide-bodied cargo aircraft. It is thought a second apron will be needed in the near future due to the increase in cargo and corporate jet business.

A new air traffic control tower is also under construction on the western side of the airport along with improvements to the airport’s road network. A new in-flight catering building is being constructed by Alpha, an international in-flight catering company, to upgrade its facilities at Cork Airport at a cost of €2.5 million.

FUTURE PLANS AND PROJECTS

Aer Rianta hopes that during 2006 Cork Airport will have the facilities to accommodate more than 3 million passengers per year. Plans have already been formulated for the next phase of the expansion. These include making provision in the multi-storey car park design to add another three storeys. There could also be a further two airbridges added to the terminal by 2007, as the projected target for passengers during that timeframe is over 5 million per year.