Airport News

Airport News
A state-of-the-art automated people mover (APM) and parking complex will be built at Orlando International Airport.

Atkins has been awarded a civil engineering contract as the Florida airport moves forward with its US$1.1 billion expansion programme.

The parking complex will be developed to the south of the main terminal and construction is set to start this year and is expected to be completed in 2017.

The work on the south airport APM complex is one of the first steps in upgrading the airport’s capacity to handle an expected 40 million passengers by 2016.

Site elements will be designed to be incorporated into a proposed new south terminal, which has not yet been determined.

The current plan is to design the APM to eliminate or minimise potential future integration or upgrade-related costs and impacts to airport operations.

The complex will relieve passenger capacity constraints in the airport’s main terminal, and also connect the main terminal to a 2,400 space parking garage being built as part of the APM complex.

Atkins will provide design services for the new roadways, bridges, utilities, grading, and drainage required for the parking garage.

Joe Boyer, Atkins’ CEO, North America, says: “This is a project of great magnitude for one of the largest and busiest airports in Florida. Our aviation business has a qualified team of professionals with the knowledge and expertise needed to successfully handle the demands of this project.”

Orlando is the 13th busiest airport in the US, and originally designed to accommodate 24mppa, but currently handling more than 35mppa.