Project manager could get $45M
Denver International Airport’s plan to add 26 gates to its concourses in the next few years will be carried out by a project management contractor that could be paid up to $45 million.
That’s the maximum set by a contract approved by the City Council on Monday night — and it likely will end up as a small portion of the eventual cost for a project that increases DIA’s number of main gates by nearly a quarter. An airport spokesman said the total still was being finalized as officials prepare more contracts.
Airport officials are aiming to keep up with rapid passenger growth — last year’s 58.3 million total was up nearly 8 percent over 2015 — and new routes planned by DIA’s carriers. The most recent announcements include United’s new direct flight to London, Norwegian Air’s new nonstop service to Paris and Frontier’s addition of 21 destinations from Denver.
DIA’s plans call for four new gates on the west end of Concourse B by 2019 and, the following year, 12 new gates on the west end of Concourse A and 10 gates on the east end of Concourse C.
To provide more flexibility during construction, a project underway now is adding a half-dozen temporary ground-loading gates on Concourse A. Those will add to DIA’s 107 regular gates and 42 “apron load” positions in which passengers board smaller planes from the tarmac.
The gate expansions mirror a
major objective of DIA’s proposed $1.8 billion, 34year public-private partnership contract to renovate the Jeppesen Terminal.
That separate project includes about $650 million in renovation work to move security to the upper level, consolidate ticketing and add shops and food options as part of a plan to expand the terminal’s capacity to 80 million passengers a year.
The terminal project has drawn opposition from the major airlines, but smoother sailing is likely for the new gates. DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery said 22 of the gates were matched to airline requests, and the airport is planning four more to accommodate airtraffic growth.
Monday’s block vote by the council included a fiveyear, $45 million contract with WSP USA to supply project managers, engineers and a couple dozen other experts to assist DIA’s project office and coordinate other contractors. The New York-based engineering firm was formed three years ago when WSP acquired Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Contracts with two architectural firms and general contractors for the first two phases likely will land in a month, Montgomery said.
Because the airport generates its own income from various fees and tenant rents, it doesn’t draw on taxpayer money for improvement projects.