St Helena : St Helena ADDITIONAL RUNWAY WORKS TO ALLOW FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
Submitted by Saint Helena Herald (Public Relations Information Office) 28.07.2012 (Article Archived on 11.08.2012)
SHG announced today that the first Variation Order under the Airport Project has been signed. The Variation Order sets out changes to the runway design that will give the Island the flexibility in the future to easily extend the runway to cater for larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus 320.
ADDITIONAL RUNWAY WORKS TO ALLOW FOR FUTURE EXPANSION
SHG announced today that the first Variation Order under the Airport Project has been signed. The Variation Order sets out changes to the runway design that will give the Island the flexibility in the future to easily extend the runway to cater for larger aircraft, such as the Boeing 737-800 and Airbus 320.
The additional works include an extra 100m of concrete runway and widening the areas at the ends of the runway (where the aircraft turns around). We won't be able to use the additional length for landing these larger aircraft until an Engineered Material Arresting System is added (EMAS, a form of collapsible concrete that will stop any over-running aircraft in a very short distance), but it is much more cost effective to do these preparatory works now than it would be in the future.
A Variation Order to this effect was agreed on 17 July, with the expectation that this additional work will be carried out within DFID's existing budget for the airport. The additional earthworks and concrete will add 12 weeks to the length of the contract.
HE Governor Capes said:
‘This is an excellent development and demonstrates the long term vision that characterizes the airport project. This gives the Island much greater flexibility in the future, and I would like to thank all those who have worked hard to bring about this design variation.’
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