Auckland Airport in New Zealand has announced that it will upgrade its international departure area by constructing a new security processing zone, passenger lounge and shopping hub.
The new project will almost double the size of the current international departure area and will include a reconfigured landside farewell zone, an expanded security area, a new passenger lounge and a new retail district. Fletcher Construction Company will be responsible for the engineering work, which will be delivered in partnership with several sub-contractors. American architects Gensler will work with New Zealand-based architects Jasmax to design the new area.
Initial work has already begun on the project with a scheduled completion date of early 2018. The estimated final cost of the new international departure project is between NZ$160m (US$100m) and NZ$180m (US$115m).
Adrian Littlewood, chief executive, Auckland Airport, said, “The announcement is an exciting and major step forward in the ongoing implementation of our 30-year vision to build our ‘airport of the future’, which will eventually see us able to accommodate 40 million passengers a year by 2040, [up] from 16 million today.
“This expansion project is the next step in the development of our combined domestic and international terminal, which will provide a great customer experience and ensure the airport can both accommodate the changing nature of international travel and our strong growth in passenger numbers.
“The design of the new international departure area will be influenced by a journey from New Zealand’s sea to sky and focuses on New Zealand’s natural beauty and our cultural heritage.
“Surrounding the passenger lounge area will be a fantastic retail hub, selling the best products from New Zealand and the world. To ensure we have sufficient space to introduce new brands and products, the terminal’s first floor retail and food and beverage leased area, post security, will grow by around 65%.”