Enfidha Airport, Tunisia

Tunisia is a country that has promoted its assets well. It has developed facilities for tourism and is now one of the premier destinations in Africa for holidaying Europeans with year-round sunshine, excellent hotels and beaches, fine golf courses and first-class service.

The country contains a large proportion of the Sahara Desert but even this is an asset to tourism.

Tunisia may be reached by travelling to one of six international airports around the country: Tunis-Carthage (8km from the capital Tunis), Jerba–Zarzis Airport, Monastir H. Bourguiba Airport, Sfax–Thyna Airport, Tozeur–Nefta Airport or 7 Novembre–Tabarka Airport. All of these airports are fairly small with limited facilities for the sophisticated air traveller.

In 2004 the Tunisian government decided that a new airport should be built on a 6,500ha site at Enfidha – a state-of-the-art international airport complex with first-class shopping, restaurants, entertainment facilities and service for the airlines and passengers. More importantly the airport was to be situated at Enfidha, to the north east of the country about 80km south of the capital Tunis but in the middle of a major tourist region.

The planning and design had almost been completed but unfortunately due to a combination of circumstances, including a breakdown in negotiations over the terms of building the airport, problems in raising the funding and political manoeuvring the airport was never built and the project was shelved.

Project revived

During 2005–2006 the project was revived by the Tunisian Government, which was eager to complete the new airport under a build operate transfer (BOT) basis with a 40-year concession.

The new Enfidha Airport was opened for operations on 22 October 2009. Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali was keen for the project to be completed before he seeks a fifth term in office in the 2009 elections.

The Tunisian Government did not want the new airport to be as luxurious as originally envisaged. Demands for a costly state-of-the-art facility were seen as a discouragement to potential bidders since the airport will serve mainly tourist charter flights.

The new airport will ease the passenger and goods traffic that passes through Tunis-Carthage airport. It is conveniently located to serve the tourist regions of Yasmine Hammamet and Port Kantaoui (near Hergla), Nabeul and Sousse, as well as the towns of Tunis, Sfax, Bizerte and Kairouan.

Project, bids and contracts

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) completed the design of the new international airport at Enfidha in the final quarter of 2001 (contract worth $9.6m) and also prepared the tender documents for the contracts relating to the construction in mid-2006.

The construction plans called for building the airport in several phases; the first phase of the airport will increase the passenger handling capacity to seven million a year. Subsequent phases are expected to increase the capacity to ten million and then 22 million in the longer-term.

The deal offered by the Tunisian Airport Authority also included the existing airport at Monastir, 60km from the proposed Enfidha facility. Its inclusion was important as it will provide the operator with a revenue stream during construction and remove the issue of competition between the two airports.

The six pre-qualifiers for the BTO contract were: Tepe AkfenVentures (TAV) of Turkey; Aéroports de Paris and Vinci of France; Hochtief, SNC Lavalin and Aéroport de Nice; Airports Company South Africa; Aeropuertos and Servicios Auxiliares with Immobilliaria Furnisa of Mexico; Corporación América Sudaméricana of Argentina.

Tepe AkfenVentures (TAV) was selected as lead contractor for the airport. TAV will also operate the airport for the next 40 years.

Design

The main architectural theme for the airport is "modern". The airport is considered a symbol of the country and reflects the image of modern Tunisia.

The terminal has been designed as a square diamond, the point of which is directed towards the landing strips. The 90,000m² terminal building is covered with a light roof in the shape of giant wings.

The external façade shows a clear division between lower level and upper levels. The use of glazing allows light to permeate the whole of the interior space.

A large patio has been established in the centre of the building and gardens between the runway and departure lounges offer passengers a chance to relax. The interior design is a mixture of traditional and modern styles.

The airport includes a 72,000m² apron area with a capacity to accommodate 18 aircraft. The remote apron area, which measures 57,000m², can handle 14 aircraft. The runways are 3,300m long and 75m wide. There are 18 passenger boarding bridges complete with check-in counters, baggage carousels, immigration and customs booths.

Construction

Construction work began in June 2007. Wassim Ben Mahmoud was the architect. Technical studies were carried out by engineering company SCET Tunisie and engineering consultancy STUDI Group.