Lagan win 3 military airport contracts

expat network

Lagan win 3 military airport contracts

Lagan Construction have been awarded a trio of contracts to carry out work at three separate military bases worldwide.

They have secured contracts with the UK’s Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) in Gibraltar and Cyprus, with combined construction work valued at an estimated £31 million. The third contract is with the US Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) for runway repairs at the Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Milton, Florida, with works valued in excess of US$14m.

Work on the RAF Gibraltar base involves a repair and upgrade of the current runway surface as well as improvements to the airfield ground lighting, with the project due to be finished by January 2016. The airfield upgrades completed by Lagan Construction International will provide a 20-year design life. Plant and equipment owned by Lagan Construction International will be shipped in from the UK along with aggregates from the UK.

The Gibraltar airfield’s runway is 1825m long, running from east to west, with about a third of it projecting outwards into the sea to the west. As well as being a military airfield, run by the RAF on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, Gibraltar is also an international airport servicing scheduled civilian flights to and from the UK. Work must therefore be completed without disruption to normal airfield activities so that the airfield remains fully operational throughout the execution of the works.

The contract at the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus will be carried out by a joint venture of Lagan Construction International and local contractor Iacovou Brothers. The project is set to include the refurbishment of the airfield operating surfaces and associated airfield ground lighting, with work to be completed by January 2017.

The project at NAS Whiting Field will consist of reconstruction and rehabilitation of runways on the south airfield which will take approximately one year to complete. Lagan Construction International will mobilise plant, equipment and personnel in the coming weeks. It will produce and place over 100,000 tons of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) by installing and operating an in-house portable batch plant on-site.

Colin Loughran, CEO of Lagan Construction Group, said: “Having completed projects on over 50 airports across five continents, airport infrastructure works are a core part of our business and our teams are experienced in providing the engineering skills and technologies necessary to deliver both airside and groundside support facilities. We have a fully committed team to ensure the contracts are delivered with the highest safety standards, within programme and cost requirements.”

Source: The Construction Index

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

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Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.