November 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
30
The new passenger terminal at
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam
International Airpor t in
Mauritius, was inaugurated
in an official ceremony on
Friday 30 August 2013.
Spann i ng a t o t a l
area of 57 000 m
2
,
it will cater for up to
4,5 million passengers
a year, thus doubling the
capacity of the country’s
international airport.
projects & contracts
THE TERMINAL WAS
inaugurated by the
PrimeMinister of Mauritius, Dr Navinchandra
Ramgoolam and will support the country in
addressing issues related to the airport com-
plex, which is the only tourist gateway con-
necting Mauritius with the rest of the world.
Inspired by the RavenalaMadagascarien-
sis, commonly known as the traveller’s tree,
this industrial facility was developed tomeet
environmental standards. The project has
taken three years to complete with invest-
ment amounting to USD305-million by the
Government of Mauritius with the support
of the China Exim Bank. The development,
design, construction and operation of the
new passenger terminal have been made
possible through the establishment of a
Mauritian company, AirportTerminal Opera-
tions Limited (ATOL), born froma partnership
between the State of Mauritius via Airports
of Mauritius Co. Ltd (AML) and Aéroports de
Paris Management (ADPM), a subsidiary of
Aéroports de Paris (ADP) Group.
The airport sector contributes about 15%
to the country’s gross domestic product and
has createdmore than7 000 jobs inMauritius.
Serge Petit, chief executive officer of AML,
welcomed the event and expressed his pride
in the successful completion of this major
project for Mauritius.
“With an overall investment exceeding
MUR14-billion in the construction of the
new terminal with scope to double exist-
ing capacity, the resurfacing and extension
of the runway and the construction of an
emergency runway/parallel taxiway the SSR
International Airport can nowaccommodate
large aircrafts,” he said. “That will place the
airport of Mauritius among the best in Africa
and in the category of airports in the world
handling 2 to 5 million passengers.”
Bruno Mazurkiewicz, chief executive
officer of ATOL, said, “In the current context
where Mauritius is positioning itself as a
transit platform, it is more than ever neces-
New passenger terminal for Mauritius
sary to anticipate the needs of passengers
and airlines, and this implies improving the
quality of services. Leveraging the expertise
of Aéroports de Paris Group, ATOLwill pursue
its strategy todevelop its passenger-handling
capacity and improve the quality of services
provided to airlines, partners, passengers and
the general public.”
The new terminal has five new docking
stations, in addition to the three existing
ones and seven passenger boarding bridges
for simultaneous handling of six wide-
bodied aircraft. At peak times, the terminal
can handle up to 14 flight departures and
arrivals. The new parking area has room for
a total of more than 600 vehicles and the
raised access road to the terminal has two
separate lanes to allow greater fluidity in the
dropping off of passengers travelling to the
airport by car or by bus. The new terminal
has a modern and bright atmosphere and is
designed for the convenience of passengers.
This industrial facility is distinguished by both
the quantity and quality of facilities available:
the upgrading of the existing infrastructure
includes passenger drop-off areas on the
raised access road, the timeliness of ser-
vices, baggage-handling as well as safety and
security systems.
The preparation of the new facilities
engaged the involvement of all airport stake-
holders and enabled the planning of opera-
tional tests as well as staff training ahead of
the transfer of 17 airlines serving more than
35 destinations worldwide.
●
Fact sheet
• USD305-million: the agreed overall
investment with support of the
Government of Mauritius and the
Exim Bank of China
• 4,5 million : the total passenger
capacity of the new terminal
• 7: the number of passenger
boarding bridges providing for
simultaneous handling of large
carriers, including the A380 or
Dreamliner.
• 6: the number of baggage carousels
in the delivery room
• 52: the number of international
check-in counters
• 14 000: the weight, in tonnes, of
elements required to erect the
imposing steel structure of the new
terminal. This figure is one and a
half times the weight of the Eiffel
Tower.
• 56 900: the total surface area, in
square metres, of the new terminal
