Charleston airport to construct 4 projects this year

Dive Brief:

Officials at Charleston International Airport will be handling four construction projects worth up to almost $130 million at the same time this year, due in part to the facility’s first direct transatlantic service, according to The Post and Courier.
The biggest project expected to begin construction this year is a new five-level, 3,000-plus-space parking deck, estimated to be cost up to $120 million. It will be built adjacent to the airport’s existing parking garage, according to The Post. Airport officials said local contractor Banks Construction will perform the first phase of the LS3P Associates-designed project, and, on Jan. 9, Tutor Perini announced that its subsidiary Roy Anderson Corp, headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi, had been awarded the $88 million construction project for the new parking structure.
Other projects could cost an estimated $9 million in preparation for planned direct British Airways service between Charleston and the United Kingdom. Those three projects include a renovation of the federal inspection station located behind the airport’s existing baggage carousels, a new lounge for BA passengers and a 15,000-square-foot kitchen capable of providing 450 meals per flight for BA and possibly other airlines in the future. A private company will build and pay for the passenger lounge.

Dive Insight:

These projects and the $200 million terminal redevelopment that was completed in 2016 are part of the airport’s Vision 2030 initiative devised to meet the growing number of passengers coming through the airport each year.

At the October 2018 meeting of the Charleston County Aviation Authority, Director Paul Campbell announced that 2018 airline activity should increase 10% from 2017 with 4.2 million boardings and 4.4 million disembarkments. Campbell also noted that the authority had exceeded its goal of 15% disadvantaged business enterprise participation. The authority owns and operates Charleston International, as well as two other South Carolina airports — Charleston Executive Airport on Johns Island and Mount Pleasant Regional Airport in Mount Pleasant.

Airports in the U.S. and around the world are clamoring to overhaul their facilities in order to meet the increase in demand and to provide passengers with more modern conveniences. Runway and terminal expansions at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai ($32.6 billion); Heathrow Airport in London ($18.5 billion) and at Los Angeles International Airport ($14 billion) are some of the biggest, but smaller airports are revamping their facilities as well.

The City of Phoenix, for instance, recently selected McCarthy Building Cos. to construct the new $310 million Southwest Airlines concourse at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. And in November, Nashville International Airport officials selected Colorado contractor Hensel Phelps to design and build the $327 million terminal lobby and International Arrivals Facility.