Bam Nuttall appointed to carry out London City Airport’s £85m concrete deck extension

London City Airport has agreed a £85m contract with Bam Nuttall for a new 75,000sq m concrete deck extension, as part of its £480m airport expansion plans.

Acting as the first stage of construction, the deck will support new infrastructure including eight aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway and a world-class passenger terminal extension. Airport bosses say the £480m development programme will “significantly change” facilities for customers and help increase annual passenger numbers from 4.5 million to 6.5 million.

The construction of the concrete deck over the King George V dock will be supported by over 1,000 piles each extending 10m into the dock bed and 10m up to just above the water line.

Works on site will take place while the airport remains operational and commence in spring 2018, once the unexploded ordnance (UXO) survey is complete. The survey recently led to the discovery of an unexploded 500kg world war two bomb which led to the airport’s temporary closure on Monday 12 February. Completion of the deck is expected in 2020.

Peter Adams, chief development officer at London City Airport, said: “The contract is the first big step forward in the airport’s development programme, essentially creating new land that will provide the base upon which we will build the majority of the transformational infrastructure, including the extended terminal building and additional aircraft stands. BAM has proven expertise and experience in these techniques and we are really pleased they are on board to deliver this project alongside the overall delivery partner, Bechtel.”

BAM’s latest involvement at London City adds to catalogue of airport work already undertaken with the firm being involved in the construction, extension or renovation of many airports, including Schiphol in the Netherlands, Terminal 2 Munich and Berlin Brandenburg in Germany, Zaventem and Charlerois in Belgium, Cork in Ireland, Bristol, Newcastle, East Midlands and Heathrow in the UK.

Commenting on the appointment, Martin Bellamy, BAM Nuttall executive director said: “We are delighted that BAM have been selected to deliver such a major marine civil engineering project that draws on our relevant expertise and experience. This scheme will play a significant part in the overall Airport Development Programme and will support the planned infrastructure such as the aircraft stands and new world class passenger terminal extension. We are looking forward to successfully delivering this prestigious project, working alongside London City Airport and Bechtel.”