Dive Brief:
- The Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) has unanimously approved a new $1.8 billion terminal project for Orlando International Airport, clearing the way for construction to begin, the Orlando Business Journal reported.
- Airport officials said the new terminal will allow the airport to deliver a high level of customer service to its more than 40 million annual passengers and will allow the facility to accommodate up to 55 million in the future.
- GOAA already selected PCL Construction to build the project's first phase, which includes 16 to 21 new gates, a parking garage and a ground transportation area.
Dive Insight:
PCL should be complete with its portion of the project by October 2019. Kiewit-Turner is expected to manage the landside terminal infrastructure. When the entire project is complete, the terminal will be served by a transit station connecting three rail services to the airport. GOAA and Orlando have also expressed interest in developing an 1,800-acre mixed-use development on airport property with a planned warehouse district for airport businesses.
As airport projects take off across the country, the Federal Aviation Administration said Airport Improvement Program (AIP) estimated that grant-eligible construction projects should drop by approximately $1 billion over the next five years to $32.5 billion. This is a downward departure from the agency's 2010 and 2014 projections. However, most large terminal projects like the one in Orlando are not eligible for AIP funding, so these megaprojects are not included in the FAA's figures.
Several airports across the U.S. are undergoing or gearing up for massive renovation, due largely to the fact that passenger traffic has increased to the point that current facilities can no longer meet their needs, including Atlanta, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and New York.
