New airport terminal with sustainable design

Westralia Airports Corporation (WAC), the owner and operator of Perth Airport, has announced that Broad Construction Services (WA) Pty Ltd is the successful contractor to build the new domestic terminal for Western Australia.

Broad Construction Services (WA) will build the new $120 million terminal located adjacent to the International Terminal, which has been designed to meet the needs of air services for regional Western Australia, particularly the resource sector, as well as some interstate services. The new terminal will cater for up to 36 aircraft and significantly improve the customer experience for regional travellers.

Skywest, Alliance Airlines, Strategic and Tiger Airways will relocate to the new terminal in early 2013. This will significantly reduce activity in the domestic precinct, further improving the experience for Qantas and Virgin customers and facilitating continued growth for these airlines.

The new terminal was designed by Hassell, with environmental sustainability at the forefront of design. Environmental features in the new terminal will include:

• rainwater harvesting and re-use for toilets and gardens, with 2000 cubic metres of underground storage capacity
• underground ducting of ventilation for air conditioning to reduce energy use
• a sophisticated building management system to reduce energy consumption during operations
• construction of a co-generation plant that will use gas to generate electricity and its heat to power the air conditioning for both terminals, which is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% due to energy savings and use of gas.

Clarke Energy has been chosen to design, supply, install and commission the 4 MW co-generation plant for Perth Airport.

Clarke Energy’s Australian operation, which has installed over 380 MW of gas to energy systems, will be supplying two 2 MWe high-efficiency gas engines, two absorption chillers and associated HV switchgear for the airport’s expansion. This system will be configured for 24/7 operation and will provide reliable backup power during grid network outages.

Construction of the International Terminal expansion will commence in late 2011.