Roads, rail and utilities

The transformational project almost doubled the size of the international terminal departure processing zone, and passenger lounge and retail hub areas. It also included work to reconfigure the landside farewell area, build a new and expanded security screening and processing area, and build a new passenger lounge and duty free shopping hub.

The resurfacing of the Hawke’s Bay runway 16-34 and main taxiway involved tight construction programming and tolerances.

Being the only runway at Hawke’s Bay Airport capable of landing Air New Zealand commuter aircraft, the site was only available for the resurfacing works when scheduled flights were not in service. This gave the Higgins team a narrow window of operations each night while the runway was closed to aircraft. The length of runway milled and paved was determined by the hours available each night. Typically, the last flight was scheduled around 9.30pm but sometimes as late as 11.00pm. The completed full width section had to be fully compacted, cooled and cleaned of any loose material prior to handover to airport security at 6.00am each morning for outbound flights. The project was completed over 26 nights/5.5 weeks.

Higgins Contractors drew on resources and specialist expertise from a range of Higgins operations to successfully complete this project.  The hallmark of the team’s effectiveness was the focus on absolute customer satisfaction, strong planning, and effective team communication.