The Concesión Aeropuertos de Oriente S.A.S, which manages six airports in the Colombian north-eastern network, hired AERTEC, an international engineering and consultancy firm specialised in the airport sector, in order to adapt the airports’ capacity to the growth in passenger air traffic, which is well above average compared to other Colombian airports.
AERTEC worked on multiple projects in more than 20 airports in Colombia, as well as projects in South American countries such as Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Mexico.
The Concesión Aeropuertos de Oriente S.A.S, which manages six airports in the Colombian north-eastern network, hired AERTEC, an international engineering and consultancy firm specialised in the airport sector, in order to design the expansion of the terminals at the international airports Simón Bolívar, also known as the Santa Marta Airport, and the Almirante Padilla Airport, located in the city of Riohacha.
These airports are experiencing a growth in passenger air traffic, which is well above average compared to other Colombian airports, around 50% more than in pre-pandemic figures. In order to adapt the capacity of these two airports to efficiently and reliably meet the growing passenger demand, they have relied on AERTEC’s expertise to design the expansion of both terminals.
“We are working to ensure that the Santa Marta Airport has enough capacity to host around 6 million passengers a year, and around 750,000 passengers at the Riohacha airport, including high quality services,” claims Arturo Lerena, Business Development Director Spain & Latin America at AERTEC. The draft phase started at the end of 2022, and it is now in the detailed, comprehensive design phase of the expansion projects, and it is scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer.
AERTEC proposed a series of improvements at the Simón Bolñivar de Santa Marta International Airport to expand and modernise its facilities, making them more sustainable. These measures include the expansion and remodelling of the shopping and boarding areas, as well as improvements in the baggage reception area and the restructuring and changes in the passenger security screening area. In short, it is a construction work of 5,000 m2, considering both the expansion and remodelling projects. They are also developing a parallel project whose aim is to optimise and reconfigure the airport apron in order to enhance its capacity and efficiency, as well as to modernise the different wirings and photovoltaic systems.
Some facilities of the Almirante Padilla de Riohacha International Airport are also being improved and extended, more specifically the shopping areas, the boarding area and the baggage claim area. They are also enhancing and optimising the check-in area, in addition to a modernisation and improvement of the airport facilities and equipment. In this case, it is a construction work of 3,000 m2, considering both the expansion and remodelling projects.
The engineering and consultancy multinational specialised in the airport sector carried out more than 20 projects in different airports of Colombia, a country for which it developed its first consultancy project in 2014. Latin America is an area of strategic interest for AERTEC, where it has a long track record of carried out and underway projects in other countries such as Peru, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Mexico.
ABOUT AERTEC
AERTEC is an international company specialising in aerospace technology. It is active in the aerospace, defence and airport industries.
AERTEC is considered to have the most aeronautical engineering services, from the study of investment, planning and design, to consultancy in airport operations and in the improvement of operations in terminal areas and airfields. The engineering company have operated in more than 160 airports from over 40 different countries all around the world.
It is a Tier 1 supplier of engineering services for AIRBUS in all its divisions: Commercial Aircraft, Helicopters, Defence and Space. AERTEC is the provider of AIRBUS in the different centres that the company has worldwide. AERTEC is involved in the world’s major aeronautical programmes, such as the A400M, A330MRTT, A350XWB, A320, Beluga and the C295, among others.
It designs on-board systems for aircraft, unmanned aerial platforms and guidance solutions for the military and civil fields. It has tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) such as TARSIS 75 and TARSIS 25, platforms with light design and unique technology designed for observation, surveillance and support for military operations. It also designs, manufactures and deploys systems for the digitalisation of work environments and automation of functional tests, following the concept of smart factories.
AERTEC has offices in Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Colombia, Peru, the United States and the United Arab Emirates, with a workforce of around 700 aeronautics experts.