Ground broken on MIA Central Base renovation project

Copyright: Miami International Airport

Miami International Airport has officially broken ground on its Central Base Modification and Expansion Project, with Miami-Dade Aviation Department officials hosting a groundbreaking ceremony.

Miami International Airport’s Director and CEO, Lester Sola, said: “This is the first of many groundbreakings we will be hosting in the coming months and years as we move forward with our new capital improvement programme. MIA grew by one million passengers in 2018 and is on track for another record-breaking year in 2019, which makes modernisation projects like the Central Base renovation all the more essential to accommodating our growth and maximising our efficiency.”

The project will upgrade 34.1 acres of asphalt and concrete pavement that was originally built in the 1960s, now used for aircraft parking and movement, near Miami International Airport’s Concourse D. The renovated space will better support larger aircraft, maximise aircraft parking locations, improve the area’s stormwater and lighting, and accommodate expected passenger growth at the airport.

The project has a predicted construction cost of $76.2 million – 75 per cent funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and 50 per cent of the remaining cost funded by the Florida Department of Transportation – and is expected to be completed by 2022.

The Central Base Modification and Expansion Project is part of Miami International Airport’s $5 billion airport-wide capital improvement programme, which will help the airport to better accommodate the predicted 77 million passengers and more than four millions tonnes of freight by 2040.