NORMAN Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston will extend its runway by 300 metres to improve safety and modernise its immigration hall as part of its $1.46-billion capital budget this fiscal year.

The capital expenditure is projected to be 30 per cent higher than the previous fiscal year and includes some 20 projects at various stages of completion according to the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ) which manages the airport and data from the Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.

The runway project now in its design stage will increase the runway length over 10 per cent from 2.7 km to 3 km and allow the airport to be internationally compliant. The project follows the hull loss of American Airlines flight AA331 which overshot the runway on a windy and rainy night, last December. It mowed down a perimeter fence and crossed the Port Royal road with the fuselage ripped into three major sections. No casualties resulted from the incident but investigations and legal claims are ongoing.

“The construction of Runway End Safety Area (RESA) at both ends of the runway at NMIA to enable the airport to become compliant with the relevant safety standard declared by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO),” the AAJ told the Observer in a written response sent by Grace Morrison, its marketing & corporate communications manager. “The provision of the RESA is intended to accommodate accidental aircraft overruns and undershoot resulting from a reasonable probable combination of adverse operational factors.”

The AAJ will facilitate the financing of these projects as part of the remainder of the Phase 1A component of the 20-year Capital Development Programme. The AAJ will shortly request engineering and design proposals for the RESA.

“All options for the location of this construction having been explored and analysed. It is proposed to build the full extension (300 metres) to the west into the sheltered harbour and make the necessary adjustments to the runway markings and navigational aids to establish the required runway strip and the RESA at both ends of the runway,” stated the AAJ response.

The project description and works includes a) Geotechnical & Hydrographic Investigations; b) Aviation Impact Studies; c) Engineering Designs

d) Land reclamation and slope protection works; e) Pavement and Sub-grade construction; f) Extension and modifications to runway approach lighting; g) New and modified runway end, edge, threshold and taxiway lighting; h) Relocation of certain Aircraft Navigational Aids; and i) Extension of perimeter fencing and access road.

This fiscal year will also see the anachronistic immigration Hall and intransit lounge modernised to include an expanded Immigration Hall with 18 desk positions and washrooms. There are seven other projects to be completed within the year 2010/11 including: NMIA Main Terminal Sign; Arrivals Concourse Rehabilitation – Phase 2; Airport Art which includes murals and a music wall; Apron Reconfiguration — Remarking; Fuel Hydrant System; Apron Subsurface Remediation; and Environment Management Programme.

Additionally a number of projects are within the planning/design phase including: Integration of existing HVAC System & Mechanical “support” to HVAC pipeline west from the Departures Concourse; Water Storage capacity improvement & Conveyance System extension and upgrade; East Airfield Drainage & Hangerage for small aircraft; Waste water recycling; Lightning Protection for the Energy Centre; Fire Detection, Alarm & Suppression Systems for the Energy Centre; Upgrade of Fire Detection, Alarm & Suppression Systems within the remainder of the Arrivals Concourse, Tower, Airline Office Block, & disparate office areas of NMIA; Completion of 24kV electrical ring main; and the RESA.

The airport is currently in the post-construction phase of its arrival concourse — Phase 1, Primary Electrical Distribution System Upgrade and procurement & Installation of

Standby Generator.