Construction specialist Laing O’Rourke will refurbish Terminal 2 (T2) at Manchester Airport after signing a contract with Manchester Airports Group (MAG).
The construction company was selected as the preferred bidder in July 2016. The contract confirmation marks the formal launch of a £1bn expansion programme at Manchester Airport, reports World Construction Network.
Laing O’Rourke will proceed with a four-year plan to create Manchester’s ‘super-terminal’, which includes design and construction of an extension to the existing Terminal 2 building, plus a new international departure lounge, and new business lounges, baggage handling facilities and airside piers.
Laing O’Rourke will also build a new parking space for 3,800 cars with direct links to the terminal building, a new access ramp connecting the exit of the M56 onto an upgraded and extended forecourt around T2, and carry out a reconfiguration of access roads in and around the new terminal.
“This is a contract of international significance, working with a progressive client on such a high profile aviation sector transformation," said Liam Cummins, head of UK Building at Laing O’Rourke.
“Laing O’Rourke combines its local knowledge of Manchester where we have recently delivered the extension to Manchester Metrolink, Two St Peter’s Square, the expansion of the Etihad Stadium and the transformation of the Manchester Town Hall Extension and Central Library, with experience of delivering major, complex projects in the aviation sector including Heathrow’s Terminals 2A and 5.”
At peak, the project will employ approximately 1,500 people. Once completed, the airport will be able to handle 45 million passengers a year.