Posted May 3, 2007, 12:33 PM
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Portage & Main 50 below
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Seattle
Posts: 4,872
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This was previously posted in Winnipeg Construction, but thought i'd also place the article here for continuity.
Quote:
Work underway on terminal
Shovels break ground at airport
Thu May 3 2007
By Geoff Kirbyson
IT looks as if the current and future terminal buildings at Richardson International Airport might not co-exist after all.
Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, said the first shovels went into the ground Wednesday on what will be the most visible piece of the city's largest-ever construction project.
He also said Shelter Canadian Properties, which won a competition last fall to overhaul the 45-year-old outgoing terminal building to include retail space and a new home for the Western Canadian Aviation Museum, has yet to come back to the WAA with a plan for the sustainable operation of the facility.
Rempel said the WAA's intention for the current structure calls for the wrecking ball to take its first swing in either 2011 or 2012.
"The business plan shows the facility coming down. We have to make that call very soon, probably in June. For cash flow purposes, we have to make a call on what the future of the building will be. (Shelter) only has days left. We're hopeful something can happen, but we can't wait forever," he said in an interview.
Arni Thorsteinson, president of Shelter, said he's planning on meeting that deadline.
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"We're working on the plan. (WAA) would like to get an agreement with us as soon as possible, but it's a complex plan. If our plan is acceptable, they'll give us the go-ahead," he said in an interview Wednesday.
Rempel told the WAA's 10th annual meeting at the Fairmont Hotel Wednesday that construction of the new terminal building is on schedule and on budget. He said the WAA negotiated a "firm fixed price contract" with contractors.
"They have to have it back to us by the end of 2009 for occupancy," he said.
But the WAA, like virtually every other customer that hired construction workers from 2004 until 2006, did experience some significant rising costs prior to locking in the price, which pushed the project's price tag up from $570 million to $585 million. That, in turn, caused the building's designs to be reduced in size from 610,000 square feet to 530,000 square feet.
Rempel said the smaller size wouldn't affect the passenger experience, security issues or shorten the effective life of the new structure.
"We added technology into the building. We redesigned some baggage processes and made more efficient use of common areas," he said, noting the entire project will be funded by the $15 per passenger Airport Improvement Fee.
Rempel said while passenger traffic keeps chugging along at three to four per cent growth annually, the opportunity for "exponential growth" lies with the WAA's cargo operations and plans for an airport campus, complete with additional hotel rooms, retail shops and expanded operations of neighbouring aerospace companies.
Rempel said the WAA has come a long way during its first 10 years since assuming the airport's management from the federal government.
"We took over what was likely the worst airport in Canada in terms of conditions. Now we're preparing to replace it with the most up-to-date airport in the country in terms of technology and processes," he said.
WAA also released its first-quarter results Wednesday. It reported 861,700 passengers passed through the airport's doors for the three months ended March 31, a 4.8 per cent increase over the same period in 2006.
Its profit for the quarter was $4.8 million, up from $4.5 million a year ago.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Airport snapshot
What a difference a decade makes. Here's a snapshot of the Winnipeg Airports Authority's operations today and when it first took over the management of what is now the Richardson International Airport in 1997.
Then Now
Revenue $22.2 M $60.3 M
EBITDA $4.6 M $28.5 M
Passengers 2.8 million 3.4 million
Cargo 14 150,000
(metric
tonnes)
Rent $970,000 $3.94 M
(to federal
government)
Source: Winnipeg Airports Authority
The impact
The nearly $600-million redevelopment of Richardson International Airport is the largest construction project in Winnipeg's history. Here's the impact it will have on the province by the time it's completed near the end of 2009.
Employment: 7,415
(in person years)
Wages paid: $317 million
GDP: $399 million
Economic output: $1.04 billion
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