Donetsk International Airport (DOK/UKCC), Ukraine

Donetsk International Airport is an airport in Donetsk, Ukraine situated a few kilometres to the north-west of the city centre. There are connections across Russia, European destinations such as Barcelona, Munich, Athens, Frankfurt, Vienna and Istanbul and other destinations such as Dubai, Beirut and Tel-Aviv.

The airport has a single runway (08/26) 8,150ft 2,484m and a single terminal building that was reconstructed in 1973 (hosted 486,700 passengers in 2006, 10,500 aircraft movements a day). The terminal hosts international departures on the first floor (recently refurbished) and national departures on the ground floor.

As Ukraine and Poland are to jointly host the 2012 European football championships, the Government of the Ukraine is now making the reconstruction of its regional airports a priority and Donetsk is one of these (Euro football matches will be hosted in the city).

Donetsk refurbishment

The authorised budget for the refurbishment and improvement of the airport facilities is $205m and the project began in November 2007 ($40m of the budget has been allocated already). The work will include a terminal expansion and improvement to international standards so that it can handle 1,000 passengers an hour (five million passengers a year).

Equipment identified by the airport as required include aircraft refuelling equipment, baggage and cargo handling equipment, flight information systems, CCTV security equipment, escalators and elevators. There will be an improvement and extension of the primary runway to 4,000m (completed by 2009) and also a new runway (started in February 2007 and due to complete by 2010 at a cost of $120m).

Currently the primary runway limits the take-off weight of aircraft to 100t. In addition there will be a 48,000m² apron space laid near the terminal for ground maintenance and servicing and a new open-air car park space for 600 cars. The airport hotel, Polet, is also receiving refurbishment to European standards.

Runway contract

The Siemens subsidiary NV ADB SA, Zaventem, Belgium received an order from the Regional Administration of Donetsk, Ukraine, to supply airfield equipment to the airport in 2007. ADB will be the general contractor supplying airfield lighting technology and radar systems. Secondary Radar Systems of Moscow will supply weather observation stations, noise and air pollution monitoring systems and Instrument Landing System equipment.

The refurbishment of the primary runway is scheduled for completion by December 2008. The runway will receive flashing lights, approach lights, touchdown zone lighting, precision approach path indicators (PAPI), runway centreline and edge lights to bring it fully up to CAT III and CAT I standards. The taxiways will also be equipped with more than 1,000 LED lights and guidance signage.

The project will also see constant current regulators, transformers, cabling, individual lamp control systems for stop bar, rapid exit and lead-on lights, diesel generators, UPS and low voltage switchboards.

There will also be an integrated airfield lighting control system installed. ATM Insight of the Ukraine will support ADB with site management, commissioning and training.

Security of movement

Indra, one of the best known IT companies in Spain, was awarded the supply, implementation and start up of a surface control and surveillance system for Donetsk airport in Ukraine in mid-2007.

The system will allow controllers to visualise the movements of aircraft, vehicles or obstacles in the runways regardless of weather conditions. It will consist of a surface movement radar (SMR) with a high resolution of approximately 6m. The radar is regarded as extremely reliable and low maintenance which significantly reduces life cycle costs.