Bahrain Airport, photo credit: Bahrain-Attractions.com

The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as represented by the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), has selected Cavotec to supply and integrate a range of environmentally friendly ground service equipment for remote aircraft aprons at Bahrain International Airport, in a deal worth more than EUR 30 million.

The product and technological scope of the order is especially broad. With 18 of Cavotec’s pre-conditioned air (PCAir) systems forming the centrepiece of the project, Cavotec will also deliver and install pop-up units, transformer sub-stations, 400Hz power supply systems, a Vacuum Evacuation System, a blue water supply system and a potable water supply system. The installation work is due for completion in February 2011 with a subsequent operation and maintenance period for one year.

While the Cavotec PCAir system itself is a new and ground-breaking system, the concept draws together proven and tested engineering expertise from, among others, Alfa Laval, Atlas Copco and Fladung. The well-known company Dar Al-Handasah, one of the world’s leading international consultancies in the airport market, was appointed to handle all contractual and technical specifications surrounding this multi-layered order.

This order is a key element of the Bahrain Airport’s USD 4.7 billion expansion programme designed to cater for the projected growth in passenger and freight numbers. The expansion, planned over the next 30 years, will triple passenger capacity to 27 million a year. Two new terminals will be opened in the next four years as part of the expansion. Bahrain’s expansion programme will see the creation of 110 aircraft stands, including 87 with contact gates. Bahrain International Airport currently hosts 42 airlines and is home to Bahrain’s Gulf Air and Bahrain Air.

The Bahrain Airport Company is wholly owned by Bahrain Mumtalakat Holdings, the investment arm of the Bahrain government, and is responsible for Bahrain International Airport and its related services.

BAC’s long-standing commitment to ‘green’ technologies and the environment has driven systems selection for this project. BAC’s proactive stance on this advanced project comes as interest intensifies ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The conference, which runs from December 7 to December 18, will seek to establish new agreements for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to replace the Kyoto Protocol. While estimates put the aviation industry’s contribution to green house gas emissions at around two percent of global emissions, the industry is already taking voluntary steps to reduce this level. BAC’s initiatives are a prime example of these efforts and we are proud to be a part of the movement.

Today’s 3Q report highlights an Order Intake of €28 million, up 7.1% from Q2 2009 levels and an Order Book of €46.2 million, up 3.7% from Q2 2009 levels.

Thanks to significant orders in the Airport market unit, such as the NDIA project, our 4Q Order Intake should be the highest in the Cavotec’s history, well over €50 million. This would put 2009 figures in line with 2008′s record intake of €146.5 million.

Read the report in full.

As we posted last month, we are extremely excited about our new Aberdeen office, so it’s nice to see others sharing in the enthusiasm.

UK-based oil indutry publication, Oil Voice, wrote a piece, “Cavotec Strengthens UK Offshore Industry Presence with Aberdeen Base” that we rather enjoyed.  You can read the text in full here.

Video still of remote-controlled excavator, photo credit: Teknisk Ukeblad

We posted earlier about Cavotec Norway‘s delivery of radio remote controls used to power heavy machinery that is cleaning up a Norwegian bombing training field.

Now this project is getting some attention in the Norwegian media.  Norway’s Teknisk Ukeblad has a piece on the project, including images.  It’s an exciting project so we are glad it has captured the media’s attention.

HB-SIA prototype, ©Le Truc/Solar Impulse

We have followed the Solar Impulse, a solar-powered airplane, on this site, here and here.  It’s a revolutionary project that has strong implications for a key industry we are involved in – Airports.

Now we are please to report that today, weather permitting, the HB-SIA prototype will be leaving its hangar at Dübendorf aerodrome near Zurich.  From there it will undergo an initial series of stationary tests involving its four engines, followed by the electromagnetic interference. These tests will be supervised by astronaut Claude Nicollier with professional German test pilot, Markus Scherdel, at the controls.

We continue to support this project and other like minded innovations – we will keep you posted on any progress.

Site of NDIA, photo credit: www.medcodredging.com

We have recently signed agreements to supply ground support equipment to several commercial and military airports around the world, most notably with New Doha International Airport (NDIA). The total amount of these orders comes to approximately EUR 4.1 million and includes suppying a range of advanced ground support systems for application in Qatar.

We will supply 36 pop-up pit units, with 2 x 90kVA rating, and 26 access covers for NDIA, scheduled to open in 2010. Eleven of these units are for installation on the cargo apron, with the remaining 25 serving remote parking positions. The pop-up pit systems supply aircraft with air, water, fuel and power.

While NDIA is the end user for the two Qatar orders, we are working directly with two contractors; Gamuda, one of Asia’s premier engineering and construction companies;and leading construction group, Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC). We will manufacture the systems and provide installation and operator training.

Following rapid growth in both air passenger and freight in the Middle East in recent years, the NDIA project is set to become a key international hub airport and the new home to Qatar Airways. NDIA hopes the new airport will serve Qatar’s aviation requirements for at least the next 50 years. The site of the new airport, covering some 22 square kilometres, lies to the east of Doha’s existing airport, and involves land reclamation from the Gulf. The airport is also being designed to comfortably handle the Airbus A380 – aircraft Cavotec’s PCAir systems cool in less than 30 minutes.