Worker shortage delays airline-terminal construction
By: Geoff Kirbyson
Updated: September 29 at 07:04 AM CDT
WINNIPEG travellers might have to wait until mid to late 2010 to check their bags and board their flights at the new terminal building at James Richardson International Airport.
Worker shortages and the challenges of orchestrating the nearly $600-million project are causing construction delays on the new terminal -- delays that could force an official opening date later than originally planned.
Barry Rempel, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Airports Authority, said despite the delays, the plans still call for a 2010 christening but he's not going to select an official date until the process is further along. He said he had hoped the new terminal would be open by that summer to coincide with Manitoba Homecoming 2010, a celebration of the province's 140th anniversary -- a series of events that's expected to attract 50,000 visitors.
"But I can't guarantee it so I'm not going to pick a day," Rempel said, adding a much higher priority is making sure the project's financing is kept on track.
Just a year ago, the WAA was calling for the state-of-the-art building to be completed in time for a late 2009 opening.
Rempel said considering the glitches experienced in London when Heathrow's Terminal 5 opened in March -- dozens of cancelled flights, baggage delays and a temporary suspension in check-in -- it's best not to rush things just for the sake of an earlier opening date.
"We want to have the building operating, test it, retest it and put bags and people through it as a test before we go live," he said.
Joe Bova, co-owner of Gibraltor Concrete, which is handling the concrete and masonry work at the new terminal building, said there have been some "minimal" delays at the work site but that's to be expected.
"This is a humungous project. When you're building a nearly $600-million project and you don't expect any difficulties you've got to be absolutely mindless," he said.
Bova said he's not making excuses but workers braved -40 C temperatures while toiling in the mud last winter .
"It's not an easy task for anybody. They've given everything they've got and then some," he said.
Bova said other high-profile construction projects, including Manitoba Hydro's downtown office building and the City of Winnipeg's new water treatment plant, are also behind schedule.
Ron Hambley, executive vice-president of the Winnipeg Construction Association, said he expects the new terminal building to be completed six months later than the initial estimates. He said with the amount of construction work currently on the go in the city and more expected to begin over the next year, it's not surprising to see the schedule "creep" a bit.
"You can't just pick up the phone and find another 50 people. You might find some labour but they wouldn't be seasoned construction people. You wouldn't get the productivity out of them so you'd be spending more money and not making significant improvements in your schedule. You work with who you have and you slug it out," he said.
Rempel said construction crews lost time after the terminal building's piles were put in and heavy rains caused some shifting around, requiring the piles to be pulled and the entire process to be repeated.
Rempel said all of the steel is up for the passenger concourse and 70 per cent of the steel has been erected for the check-in areas.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
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