| Saint Helena Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: ? – ICAO: FHSH – WMO: ? |
|||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Owner | Saint Helena Government | ||
| Operator | Lanseria Airport | ||
| Location | Saint Helena | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,017 ft / 310 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 18/36 | 1,850 | 6,070 | Concrete |
Saint Helena Airport is a proposed airport that will be constructed from 2012 through 2015 in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. From the 1960s there was an idea to build an airport on the St Helena Island. In 1999 this was taken up by the island government. After a long period of rumour and consultation, the British government announced plans to construct an airport in Saint Helena in March 2005 and the airport was originally expected to be completed by 2010. However constant delays by the British government meant an approved bidder, the Italian firm Impregilo, was not chosen until 2008, and then the project was put on hold in November 2008, allegedly due to new financial pressures brought on by the credit-crunch. By January 2009, construction had not commenced and no final contracts had been signed, and Governor Andrew Gurr departed for London in an attempt to speed up the process and solve the problems. On 22 July 2010, the British government agreed to help pay for the new airstrip using taxpayer money.[1] It was only on November 3rd, 2011 when Island Governor Mark Capes announced construction contracts to have been eventually signed.[2] The airport is expected to open in 2015, by which time the RMS Saint Helena, the only regular ship to call at St Helena, will be retired. By its advocates, it is hoped that the airport will bring much needed economic growth to the isolated island economy which, in the long term, is expected to lead to financial self sustainability and an end to UK budgetary aid.[3]
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A total amount of £201.5 million has been funded for design and construction which will be carried out by South African engineering group Basil Read (Pty) Ltd. Additional funds of up to £10 million in shared risk contingency, and £35.1 million for ten years of operation by South-African airport operator Lanseria Airport have also been granted by the UK Government. According to the St Helena government this represents a saving of more than 20% in real terms from the 2008 price, taking into account inflation and the value of the pound. The airport will be the largest single investment ever made in the island.[4]
The airport is due to be built on Prosperous Bay Plain, on the east side of Saint Helena entailing a concrecte runway of 1,850 m (6,070 ft) with taxiway and apron, approximately 8 million m³ rockfill embankment through which a 750m long reinforced concrete culvert will run, an airport terminal building of 3,500m² and support infrastructure, air traffic control and safety, bulk fuel installation for 6 million litres of diesel and aviation fuel, a 14 km airport access road from Rupert's Bay to the airport, and all related logistics.[5]
Given its dimensions the airport will be capable of accommodating up to two[6] twinjet passenger aircraft up to the size of the Airbus A320, Boeing 737 and also Boeing 757-200. An engineered material arresting system approved by Air Safety Support International (a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Civil Aviation Authority) will provide additional safety in case of runway overruns allowing the airport to receive these large aircraft on the relatively short runway.[7][8] Flights may potentially operate services to the UK, Ascension Island and Cape Town, and possibly Walvis Bay in Namibia, allthough the Ascension Island link is still subject to negotiation between the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the US Defense Department since the Wideawake Airfield at Ascension island is closed to commercial air traffic. Therefore it also cannot be listed by an airline as landing alternative allthough situated 800 miles north-northwest from St Helena it is the closest alternative airfield. This leaves the Namibian coastal cities in a distance of at least 1,100 miles as the next best diversion options for which every inbound aircraft must carry enough fuel reserve limiting its load capacity. In practical terms this would seem to restrict use of the St Helena airport to flights coming out of Southern Africa.[9] The distance from key destinations (Johannesburg, Cape Town, Ascension), the length of runway available, and the type of aircraft available in the region dictate that air services to St Helena will have to operate to the requirements of Extended Twin Engine Operations (ETOPS) which implies the provision of an instrument approach system based on an off-set Instrument Landing System Localiser (ILS LLZ).[10][11] Such is also required by the terrain of the airport which, in commercial passenger air transport terms, is safety-critical, due to its steep approaches, high elevation (1000ft above sea level[12] ) and rocky outcrops. Without an instrument approach the provision of a viable air service is considered impossible.[13] Further there are doubts concerning local weather conditions and, in particular, there are doubts about the amount of turbulence that could be expected on the approaches (fallwinds resulting from the elevated location and the surrounding bluffs). Therefore it has been recommended a charter aircraft to perform approaches to and departures from the intended runway, which have not taken place so far.[14]
Logistics of the airport construction are critical, because of the island's isolated location and the lack of construction equipment, which will require everything such as extremely heavy duty equipment and materials to be shipped in, thus resulting in a huge and unique logistics operation.[15]
Due to the limited landing infrastructure with no breakwater or mooring facilities at the sea front new harbour facilities capable of handling construction equipment and fuel supplies will be constructed at Rupert's bay.[16] Fuel transfers between Rupert's Bay and the aerodrome connected by a 14 km haul road are assumed to be by road tanker for 20 years after which a capital allowance has been made for enlargement of the bulk fuel storage and the installation of a fuel transfer pipeline.[17]
On 4th November 2011 Basil Read has been awarded to construct an airport on St Helena Island.[18] The first representatives of Basil Read visited the island on Saturday 19th November 2011 for initial investigations and discussions.[19] Following a second team's visit during December 2011 Basil Read's project manager has settled to the island and the first St Helenian citizen has been employed.[20] Preparation works are expected to begin in early 2012 in Rupert's Valley on the west coast, which includes establishing storage facilities, a temporary fuel farm and the design and construction of a temporary wharf.[21] Basil Read has been sourcing its own ship, a roll-on/roll-off vessel[22] which will regularly supply the island with cargo and personnel for the project. It is planned to initially call at St Helena in mid 2012.[23] Basil Read CEO Heyns in November 2011 said design phase would begin immediately and anticipated that construction could begin in May 2012 which at peak would employ some 300 people of which as many locals as possible should be involved. Migrant workers arriving for the airport development project will be subject to a screening for HIV/AIDS.[24] Construction is said to take place over a 48-month period.[25] The company also considers developing a temporary runway to enable the use of a C-130 Hercules-type aircraft to facilitate quicker access to the site within 18 months of the beginning of construction.[26]
The airport will extend the United Kingdom's capabilities to carry out airborne missions in the South Atlantic region, such as maritime patrols in accordance with international fishing agreements (e.g. ICCAT), counter-piracy missions along important trade routes, and also airlift operations notably into Southern Africa.
According to analysts the UK government's decision to finally go ahead with the airport, after long delays, seems to be driven in part by concerns over a continuing tense standoff with Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands. The island is about 3,812 miles (seven hours and 40 minutes flight time) from the Falklands. But, analysts say that was nevertheless an improvement over the present state of isolation from the UK for both St. Helena and the Falklands.[30]
According to Private Eye magazine, all of the companies tendering for the job of building and running the airport had by late September, 2006 withdrawn from bidding for the project, which was to be funded by the Department for International Development (DfID). The local Access Office explained that the reasons were unclear but it seems the bidders considered the DfID has been unhelpful by not providing the possibility of on-site investigations in order to complete a detailed design before providing a fixed price for the project. According to the DfID's Director for Overseas Territories, his department remains committed to an airport for St Helena but at the time of the article there were no new bidders.[31]
DfID re-started the procurement process to identify a suitable Design, Build and Operate contractor in October 2006. Capability Statements were received by DfID in March 2007 and four bidders were pre-approved for the Design, Build and Operator contract and a further three applicants have been pre-approved for the Air Service Provider contract. The applicants for the DBO visited the island for six months from June 2007 before submitting their final proposals, and as of January 2008 DfID is down to a shortlist of two bidders.
It was reported in The Guardian on 10 December 2008 that UK Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander had announced a "pause in negotiations over the St Helena airport contract",[32] apparently related to the 2008 economic downturn.
The St. Helena Leisure Corporation (Shelco) was set up by Arup's Sir Nigel Thompson and Berwin Leighton Paisner's Robert Jones, planning to construct luxury resorts and a hotel to be run by Oberoi Hotels & Resorts in conjunction with the airport. The real estate was to be sold even before construction had started; the proposal was turned down by the local government and the DfID.[33]
Prosperous Bay Plain is one of the few remaining sites on Saint Helena that holds significant ecological diversity; according to a 2004 review by Atkins Management Consultants, the survival of numerous endemic species critically depend on preservation and protection of the location; it also is an important nesting site for the Wirebird, Saint Helena's national bird which is nearly extinct. Although Shelco still continues to be a major force pushing for the airport's construction, its co-founder Sir Nigel is the chairman of the environmental charity Campaign to Protect Rural England.[33][34][35]