Fraport has submitted a building permit application to the City of Frankfurt for the construction of a new Pier G at Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
Fraport is keen to push the construction in response to passenger growth, most notably in the low-cost carriers (LCC). Pier G was originally envisaged as the second phase in the construction of FRA’s new Terminal 3, but is now being commissioned ahead of schedule.
The new pier will provide cost-saving ground handling for LCC traffic, while being fully integrated into Frankfurt Airport’s hub function. The decision in favor of the new pier, which fully complies with the zoning specifications for the new terminal, was taken following a comprehensive examination of various options.
Based on the current plans, the first construction phase of Pier G will be completed in 2020 at a cost of up to €200m (US$234.8m) and will provide an annual capacity for four to five million passengers.
Dr. Stefan Schulte, chairman of the executive board at Fraport AG, said, “Submitting the building permit application for the new Pier G is an important step that will enable us to alleviate future capacity constraints at Terminals 1 and 2 as early as 2020. By this date, our two existing terminals are expected to be approaching their capacity limit of 64 million passengers.
“That limit could be expanded to around 68 million passengers, but only on a temporary basis and at the expense of quality. Pier G was already envisaged as the second phase in the construction of our new Terminal 3 and is now being built ahead of schedule. The new pier is designed as a fully functional passenger terminal tailored specifically to the needs of low-cost carriers and will be optimally integrated into Frankfurt Airport’s hub system.”
In its second phase, Pier G will be expanded to a total capacity of up to seven million passengers and connected to the first section of Terminal 3. In the third and final phase, Pier G will be extended to include bridges and jetways. Construction work on the new pier is scheduled to begin in mid-2018 under the responsibility of a general contractor.