Los Angeles commissioners appropriate funds for the MSC and BOP projects at LAX
US Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners voted (18-Nov-2016) to appropriate funds for a Midfield Satellite Concourse (MSC) and a related Baggage Optimisation Project (BOP) at Los Angeles International Airport. The concourse, designed as an addition to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), will include 12 gates in its first phase of construction. The MSC will provide the flexibility and gate space that LAX needs, and reduce the reliance on the LAX remote gates where passengers are currently bused to board aircraft. The MSC, expected to costs USD1.3 billion, will be funded through a combination of revenue bonds and cash. Payments of future years' debt service on those bonds will be recovered primarily through airline terminal rates and fees, non-aeronautical revenues, and passenger facility charges. The North Gates phase of the MSC will include two gates for Group VI aircraft such as the A380 and the Boeing 747-8, while the remaining 10 gates will be able to handle Group V aircraft. The new concourse will connect to TBIT via a 1000ft long passenger tunnel that will start in a new gateway facility built adjacent to the terminal. The tunnel will feature 42" thick walls and roof designed to withstand more than 660 tons, the equivalent of a fully loaded A380. Sustainability will also be a key feature of the new concourse, which has been designed to achieve LEED Silver certification and CAL Green Tier 1 status. Substantial completion of the new concourse is anticipated in late 2019, at which time operational activities will begin. A second phase will add additional gates on the south end of the terminal. Site preparation for the new concourse has already begun with the demolition of the former TWA hangar, to be followed soon with demolition of the former U.S. Coast Guard hangar. In addition to the MSC contract, the board approved several other items associated with the new concourse and the BOP. They include a three-year lease worth an estimated USD7.4 million with Turner-PCL for off-field commercial land to be used for construction laydown; amendments to the lease with the Tom Bradley International Terminal Equipment Company (TBITEC) that includes procurement of equipment necessary for the BOP; and contracts with TBITEC to acquire and install the baggage handling equipment at both the MSC and TBIT, totalling USD260 million. [more - original PR] [more - original PR II]