Staff from global engineering group Bechtel will join airport operator DAA in a new deal to aid the State airport's capital spending programme.
DAA is working on a series of long-term building projects to prepare Dublin Airport for future demand.
The State company, responsible for Cork and Dublin airports, has hired Bechtel as “integrated partner” for the the capital spending programme.
Under the deal’s terms, Bechtel employees will become part of Dublin Airport’s existing team, giving its infrastructure department the flexibility needed to meet the programme’s demands.
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Dublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison explained that this is a new approach to such projects in the Irish market. He added that the deal would provide Dublin Airport's own in-house team with the support of world-class resources.
“Working with Bechtel, we will bring a portfolio management approach to the forthcoming capital programme and this will deliver efficiencies across a range of areas,” said Mr Harrison.
John Williams, Bechtel's UK & Ireland managing director, said the company would bring experience and innovation to Dublin Airport's investment programme.
Coronavirus restrictions
DAA recently started the procurement process for a series to projects to ensure work is ready to start when passenger numbers begin recovering from the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.
The Commission for Aviation Regulation has approved the work, which is likely to run to the end of this decade.
Work on necessary projects including Dublin Airport’s new north runway and baggage screening systems is continuing.
Passengers numbers at the airport, Ireland’s biggest gateway, fell 78 per cent to 7.4 million last year. A record 32.9 million travellers passed through there in 2019.
Bechtel is a US-based multinational engineering, construction and project management business. It works for the energy, infrastructure, nuclear, security, and mining and metals industries.
It has managed more than 40 major airport projects in the last decade, including the expansion of Gatwick and London City airports, and new construction at Muscat International Airport in Oman.
