A £9 million project to strengthen and resurface large areas of the taxiway, aircraft parking stands and cross runway at Isle of Man Airport has been completed on time and within budget.
More than 45,000 hours were worked during the project which took place over two phases.
It delivered 500 square metres of high strength concrete along with 70,000 square metres of surfacing, and used 20,000 tons of aggregate from Poortown Quarry.
The first phase was undertaken by Colas (IoM) Ltd between October 2019 and March 2020. The contractor successfully replaced the time-expired existing asphalt surface on aircraft parking stands 7 and 8 with high strength concrete, to support the 97-ton weight of an easyJet Airbus A321.
The second phase was initially delayed from 2020 due to the pandemic, but once work commenced in spring 2021 the contract was delivered ahead of programme and within budget, between March and September.
Work involved the successful strengthening and resurfacing of the short cross runway and the main taxiway parallel with the main runway, along with widening the starter strips at each end of the main runway and other small resurfacing and repair works. Runway and taxiway lighting renewal included the installation of LED lighting on the cross runway.
The second-phase contractor was UK-based Lagan Aviation and Infrastructure Ltd which utilised nearly 60% on-island staff and sub-contractors.
Rob Callister MHK, Member of the Department of Infrastructure with responsibility for Ports, said:
‘This type of work is essential to the smooth running of transport connections to and from the Isle of Man and will place us on a firm footing for many years to come.
‘The project has been a great example of teamwork and planning and I congratulate all those involved. Both contractors have engaged and collaborated with the Department and its consultants to ensure the end product for our airline partners is of the highest standard.
‘Working in such a challenging environment is never easy and praise must also go the team at the Airport who have accommodated the project and maintained compliance with stringent operational and security requirements throughout.’
