Airport News
The new terminal at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Airport (SRR), the main international airport in Mauritius, has been officially inaugurated following three years of work.
The 56,900m2 terminal, the largest infrastructure ever built in Mauritius at a cost of US$305m (£196m), is set to double the airport’s passenger capacity. The renovated SRR can handle up to 4.5 million passengers per year, increasing capacity during peak times from 750 passengers per hour to 1,640.
The terminal has five new docking stations including one specially designed to accommodate A380s, in addition to the three existing stations, as well as seven passenger boarding bridges for simultaneous handling of six wide-bodied aircraft. At peak times, the terminal can handle up to 14 flight departures and arrivals.
Serge Petit, chief executive officer of Airports of Mauritius Limited (AML), welcomed the investment that has allowed the airport to accommodate for lager aircraft and double capacity.
“That will place the airport of Mauritius among the best in Africa and in the category of airports in the world handling two to five million passengers,” Petit said.
Mauritian company Airport Terminal Operations Limited (ATOL) implemented the development, design, construction and operation of the new passenger terminal. ATOL was created by a partnership between Airports of Mauritius Limited (AML) and Aéroports de Paris Management (ADPM), a subsidiary of the Aéroports de Paris (ADP) Group.
Jacques Follain, CEO of ADPM, said, “This new terminal, which doubles the airport's capacity, will play a key role in the economic development of Mauritius. The island wanted a world-class airport site in order to better fulfill the demands of its growing tourist industry.
“After the successful commissioning of this facility, ADPM, through ATOL, will now be in charge of managing and operating this infrastructure by developing traffic and income from retail outlets.”
The new building is made from 140,000 tonnes of steel, the equivalent of one and a half times the weight of the Eiffel Tower, with a roof modelled on the traveller's tree (the ravenala palm), a tropical plant found all over Mauritius. The central section, which symbolises the trunk, covers the entrance hall, while the "palm leaves" to the sides provide cover for the boarding lounges, which offer passengers a view over the mountains of Mauritius and Blue Bay lagoon.
The terminal is spread over three levels. The ground floor houses tour operator desks, customs services and the baggage reclaim area, which uses six carousels. The first floor is home to the departure concourse, which has 52 check-in desks situated less than 100m from the boarding lounges and more than 4,400m2 of duty-free shops. On the second floor, there is a 2,500m2 glazed area specially designed for people dropping off departing passengers.
The terminal was built in line with the Mauritius Sustainable Island concept, which is a national priority of the country's government. It is equipped with 264 solar panels, rainwater recovery systems, natural lighting for the public areas as well as green spaces (tree-lined patios, vertical gardens containing tropical plants and water walls).
The airport was inaugurated on Friday (30 August), attendants at the event included members of the government, including Mauritius’ prime minister, foreign delegations, distinguished guests and airport stakeholders.
