Connect with us
Shannon Airport Upgrade Shannon Airport Upgrade

Community

Lift-off for €15m Shannon Airport Upgrade Project

Lift-off for €15m Shannon Airport Upgrade Project – The Shannon Airport Upgrade on the main runway, which commenced in May of this year, included the full rehabilitation of 2,400m of runway surface, the replacement of runway edge and centre line lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting, ducting and other associated works. Photo: Arthur Ellis

Lift-off for €15m Shannon Airport Upgrade Project

Shannon and Lagan Asphalt Group today announced the completion of a €15m Shannon Airport Upgrade project on Ireland’s longest runway eight weeks ahead of schedule.

The Shannon Airport Upgrade on the main runway, which commenced in May of this year, included the full rehabilitation of 2,400m of runway surface, the replacement of runway edge and centre line lighting with energy-efficient LED lighting, ducting and other associated works.


advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement




advertisement



Lagan Asphalt Group, one of the leading contracting companies in Ireland, was appointed by Shannon Airport as the main contractor on the project following a successful bid under an EU tender process.

A team of 90 people and 70 vehicles worked on the runway at night to avoid disrupting flights to and from Shannon Airport. At the peak of construction project, the Lagan Asphalt group laid the equivalent of one football pitch of refurbished runway surface each night.

The Shannon Airport Upgrade is part a €15 million investment programme at the Airport and was financed through a loan secured from the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. 

Matthew Thomas, CEO, Shannon Group said: “The runway is the main artery of Shannon Airport and has been one of the most important pieces of infrastructure in the South-West since its construction in 1961. It provides a crucial link to the global community and has facilitated the growth of Irish tourism and business in the region for over 55 years.”

“When working on such a vital project, it is really important to work with a partner you trust with a proven track record of meeting challenging briefs on time and within budget. I am pleased to say that our team, in conjunction with Lagan Asphalt, has done exemplary work here in delivering this hugely important project that will serve the customers of Shannon Airport for the next 25 years.”

Commenting on the project, Brian McManus, Lagan Asphalt Director and Project Manager said: “The Shannon Airport Upgrade project presented us with some unique challenges in terms of scale and time-management. Our brief was to deliver a large scale, world-class refurbishment project on a runway that was effectively still in use.”

“In order to allow flights to land, we worked in four-hour shifts at night, laying a new section of surface in time to allow for a 90-minute health and safety inspection ahead of the first of aircraft arriving on the runway. Using this process, we laid approximately 60,000 tonnes of asphalt during this project.”

Kevin Lagan, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Lagan Group said: “As one of the leading building materials and contracting companies in the market, runway rehabilitations are an important part of our business. We are very pleased to have delivered this complex and challenging project under budget and a full eight weeks ahead of schedule.”

“The Lagan Group has worked on a number of large-scale projects at various airports in recent years and we have been able to bring the value of our experience to bear on this project. I would personally like to congratulate our crew on a job well done in delivering this crucial piece of infrastructure for the people of the South-West region.”

Lagan Asphalt has recently completed the major infrastructure project on the M18 & N17 between Gort and Tuam which will improve safety standards and ease traffic congestion in the region, providing greater ease of access to motorists travelling to Shannon Airport.

To visit the official Shannon Airport website click here

To read more Shannon Airport stories on I Love Limerick click here

Richard is a presenter, producer, songwriter and actor. He was named the Limerick Person of the Year (2011) and won an online award at the Metro Éireann Media and Multicultural Awards (2011) for promoting multi-culturalism online. Richard says that the ilovelimerick.com concept is very much a community driven project that aims to document life in Limerick. So, that in 20 years time people can look back and remember the events that were making the headlines.