OREANDA-NEWS. Copenhagen Airport will be investing a quarter-billion Danish kroner in expanding Pier C to provide more space and better service for both passengers and the large aircraft used for intercontinental flights.

With an additional 2,900 square metres for passengers and three new stands with air bridges for large planes, Copenhagen is making room for additional growth.

Within the next eighteen months or less, more than 100 workmen, builders and engineers will be busy expanding Pier C, which is used for long-haul flights and flights to non-Schengen destinations.

"We have been generating substantial long-haul growth in recent years, which means that Denmark now has direct flights to 27 intercontinental destinations. We expect more growth in the years ahead, so we need to build more now," said Copenhagen Airport CTO Christian Poulsen.

There is a clearly defined goal for the project:

"We want the new part of Pier C to be a pleasant, spacious and relaxed place for passengers while they are waiting to board their flight for a long trip," said Poulsen.

In January, Copenhagen Airport announced its "Expanding CPH" vision regarding the creation over the next two to three decades of more space and facilities for handling 40 million passengers per year, almost twice the 24.1 million passengers who travelled through Copenhagen Airport last year.

The first visible part of this vision will be Pier C, which will be expanded and refurbished to the tune of roughly a quarter-billion Danish kroner. The new butterfly-shaped addition to the Pier will be ready by the end of 2015: 25 metres wide and 100 metres long, the new building area will serve the large aircraft used for flights to destinations in Asia and North America.

This means it will also be possible to ready the building to handle even the very largest passenger airliners such as the A-380, if they are deployed for flights to Copenhagen sometime in the future.

Copenhagen Airport CEO Thomas Woldbye calls the new project yet another visible and very real sign of the roll-out of the airport's World Class Hub strategy.

"It's one thing to have a strategy; it's something completely different to stick to and carry it out. The expansion of Pier C is a good example that we are now executing and implementing our World Class Hub strategy,” said Woldbye.

The new building has been designed by award-winning schmidt hammer lassen architects.

"It was important for us to create a timeless expression to match the design that has brought Copenhagen Airport to its current position as one of the best airports in the world," said senior partner John F. Lassen.

Jakon has been chosen as general contractor for the project, a company that has extensive experience in construction at an airport that has to be in full operation 24/7, all year round. Bdr. Hedegaard won the contract for the aircraft stands. The adviser on the project is MOE.

In addition to expanding Pier C to make room for an additional 1,200 passengers, Copenhagen Airport recently started a major refurbishment project in the existing southern part of the pier at Gates C34 and C37.

These gates will become more airy and open, allowing passengers to sit wherever they want until boarding begins. This will make for more flexibility and a better use of space, along with a better experience for passengers.

The same gate-boarding procedure will be used in the coming expansion of the pier, and CPH is working closely together with the airlines to test the best possible procedures in this connection.