OREANDA-NEWS. Fraport AG, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport (FRA), has announced its final decision to commence construction of the new Terminal 3 in 2015. The decision comes after a comprehensive and detailed analysis of an audit study commissioned by the Hesse state government to assess the airport's future capacity requirements. During its meeting yesterday (April 14), Fraport AG's supervisory board also reconfirmed its decision in favor of the planned construction of FRA's Terminal 3 in the southern part of the airport, after having thoroughly re-assessed all relevant traffic forecasts and expert studies regarding the new terminal.

Fraport's decision is based on expert studies by two independent research institutes on Frankfurt Airport's forecast passenger growth. The results of these studies were essentially confirmed by the recent audit commissioned by the Hesse state government. The auditors certified, among other things, that the expert studies were carried out in full conformity with recognized scientific standards. Commissioned by Fraport AG in September 2014, these studies forecast that passenger volumes at the FRA global aviation hub will rise to between 68 million and 73 million passengers by the year 2021. Thus, the airport's current terminal capacity of 64 million passengers per year will be exceeded by 2021.

The quality audit commissioned by the Hesse state government also examined possible alternatives in the northern part of Frankfurt Airport for creating additional terminal capacity. However, the audit confirmed the studies' conclusions that the most viable solution, from an economic point of view, is to build the first planned phase of the new terminal in the southern part of the airport.

The alternative proposals by the Hesse state government to expand FRA's capacity by a northern extension of Pier A-Plus and a newly-built, extended Pier C might well be considered under qualitative aspects, but do not represent a true alternative to Terminal 3. In effect, these alternatives would require high investments but not create the required capacity expansion or provide additional docking positions for large aircraft types. Furthermore, the proposed alternatives lack the necessary zoning decisions as well as any legal permission by the responsible aviation authorities.

Fraport AG's executive board chairman, Dr. Stefan Schulte, explained: "We have thoroughly assessed and scrutinized all possible alternatives before deciding in favor of Terminal 3. We are very well aware of our responsibility to our shareholders, our customers, passengers and employees, as well as to the people living in the region. Frankfurt Airport is Germany's largest place of employment and serves as the 'Gateway to the World' for the state of Hesse and Germany as a whole. The new Terminal 3 will underscore this role and thus further strengthen our region. To accommodate the forecast traffic growth, it is now necessary to commence construction for the third terminal during the current year."

Fraport's CFO, Dr. Matthias Zieschang, added: "With an investment volume of between €2.5 billion and €3 billion, Terminal 3 will be one of Germany's largest infrastructure projects. Refraining from using a single general contractor for the entire terminal construction, Fraport will instead award targeted multiple contracts to various companies performing specific tasks related to the project. This method already proved successful with the new Pier A-Plus at Terminal 1 that was inaugurated in 2012 on schedule and on budget. In addition, this method allows regional companies to offer their expertise and thus to benefit from the construction of the new terminal.

Fraport will soon issue an EU-wide notice and invitation to tender for the first phase of the excavation works on the site of the future Terminal 3. Due to the time frame required for the EU tender process, the excavation works are scheduled to start towards the end of the year. Construction time for the terminal is scheduled to take place over a period of some seven years. Thus, the new Terminal 3 is expected to become operational in 2022.