Porto Alegre International Airport Expansion
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Award of Merit
Owner: Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Lead Design Firm | Civil, Structural and MEP Engineer: Pöyry Tecnologia Ltda (AFRY)
General Contractor: Consortium HTBM—POA Airport
The expansion of this airport in southern Brazil spans about 72,000 sq m and includes an addition and renovation for the airport’s existing terminal. Crews were challenged in carrying out the work while the airport was in full operation. One of the goals of the project is to increase the region’s economic competitiveness and make the airport an international hub, the submitter says.
To help achieve that aim, the project sought to spark an expansion of the airport’s air cargo business, in part by extending a runway. That allows local shippers to send air freight directly from Porto Alegre to distant points, instead of having to first transport the goods to São Paulo, about 1,300 km away.
Because of the water channels and streams that cut through the site, the team developed a complex drainage design. It involved storing 1 million cu m of drained water and controlling the flows reaching a nearby river.
The team completed the project on time and on budget with no serious accidents or fatalities and with just three lost-time incidents during 7.7 million work hours. The submitter says the project also had a focus on “woman empowerment,” with women holding most of the leadership roles in the companies that were part of the team.
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