HAURATON at Bezmer NATO Airbase, Bulgaria

Bezmer Air Base is situated in the eastern part of the Upper Thracian Lowland, in the Yambol Oblast (Region), 20 km west of the city of Yambol and 30 km southeast of the city of Sliven, between the villages of Bezmer and Bolyarsko. The base takes its name from the nearby village, which is named after Khan Bezmer of Bulgaria (7th Century AD).

The strategic location and favourable weather conditions in the area was the reason why the base was first established during World War I by the Imperial German Air Service, used for zeppelins involved in reconnaissance and bombing missions to Romania, Russia, Sudan and Malta.

More recently Bezmer Airbase is one of the few military bases run by the USA in Bulgaria. It is one of four bases established according to the 2006 Defence Cooperation Agreement between the United States and Bulgaria.

Bezmer Air Base is the sixth most important and advanced US military facility outside the USA territory, due to its strategic location and the possibility to store long range aircraft.

In 2014 / 2015 new apron areas were constructed to handle large long-range transport aircraft such as Lockheed C-130 Hercules and C-5 Galaxy. Linear drainage was also required in the pre-threshold and stopway areas of the military runway.

The project required a strong and durable linear drainage system capable of withstanding ultra-heavy-duty loads and dynamic forces imposed by frequent traffic and turning of large military aircraft.

Efficient intake and drainage capacity was also required due to the base being situated within former marsh land. A safe system with minimum F.O.D. risk was also considered important.

HAURATON RECYFIX HICAP 8300 and 10300 Slot Channels were installed as they met project requirements more closely compared with competing systems. The project team considered RECYFIX HICAP ductile gratings to be a more safe and durable option. The system hydraulic design was also considered to be highly efficient and cost effective.

HAURATON provided close technical support, including specialist advice providing a robust steel reinforcement design for F 900 applications.

HAURATON also supplied four AQUAFIX SKG Coalescence Separators manufactured in steel for effective treatment and storage of hydrocarbons and other surface pollutants drained from the new aircraft stands.

In 2020 / 2021 HAURATON also supplied modular linear drainage on another expansion project at Bezmer Airbase.

Client
NATO
United States Air Force (USAF)
Ministry of Defence Bulgaria

Engineer
PRONO Ltd 

Contractors
Stimex Ltd 

HAURATON Subsidiary
HAURATON Bulgaria

HAURATON Partner
Pipe System AD Ltd

HAURATON Product(s)

RECYFIX HICAP 8300, Slot 28mm, F 900 – 1559m
RECYFIX HICAP 10300, Slot 28mm, F 900 – 617m
FASERFIX SUPER 200, Type 020, F 900 – 30m

AQUAFIX SK2BP 20 Coalescence Separator – 1
AQUAFIX SK2BP 30 Coalescence Separator – 2
AQUAFIX SK2BP 40 Coalescence Separator – 1

Location
Bezmer, Yambol Region, Bulgaria

Date
October 2014

RECYFIX HICAP Slot Channel installation at Bezmer NATO Airbase, Bulgaria

RECYFIX HICAP 10300 Slot Channel

AQUAFIX Coalescence Separators