Matthew Xuereb
€17m aviation park being built in Safi
A plan showing what the new, 20-hectare aviation park will look like, with Medavia hangar and SR Technics' temporary hangar. SRT's own new facility will be ready in three years' time.
An aviation park spanning 20 hectares and costing the government €17 million is being built on the outskirts of Safi to pave the way for SR Technics to start its aircraft maintenance operations there in August.
The park includes the current Medavia hangar, which will host SR Technics' facility until the latter's new hangar is completed near Lufthansa Technik at the airport's Gate Four in around three years' time.
Medavia's new 50 metres by 100 metres hangar will be built from scratch within the park.
It is being constructed on the site of an older hangar, which is being demolished.
David Xuereb, architect responsible for the project on behalf of Malta Industrial Parks, said the project would lead to the closure of the road leading to Safi and instead the present taxiway would be turned into a road leading to Safi centre.
This would enable the aviation park to be linked to the main runway. Part of the Armed Forces of Malta compound in the area will also be relocated.
Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said Malta had already attracted two of the largest companies in aviation maintenance - Lufthansa Technik and SR Technics.
The aviation park would enable Malta to attract more companies which did this kind of work, even on a smaller scale, as well as those companies involved in other aspects of aircraft maintenance. Some companies had already expressed an interest in offering ancillary services, he said.
The project, the minister said, had to be concluded by July since SR Technics' first aircraft was due in for maintenance in September.
Mr Xuereb said a lot of attention to detail was going into the project, such as the re-use of construction waste from excavations and of the steel structure of the old hangar which is being demolished.
Once completed, all rainwater that falls on the park will be stored in water reservoirs.
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M.Bezzina
Mar 4th 2010, 21:59
Hemm xi hadd mill awtiritajiet jahseb fin nies/dilettati tal ajruplani biex it triq ta Hal-Safi ma tigix eliminata kompletament ?hafna min nies jiehdu pjacir johorgu dawra fix xitwa il hadd u l-ajruport ikun mimli in nies ukoll.Dan il progett huwa veru ta gid ghall pajjiz imma tista tikkunsidra li l SRT se tuza il facilita tal medavia ghal 3 snin biss.Mela ara kemm se jintefqu spejjex ghalxej, bix tinbena triq alternattiva ohra, se tinbena taxiway li mandix ghalfejn tinbena fl opinjoni tieghi meta l-istess Lufthansa technik ix xitwa l-ohra kiebt uzat l-istess taxiway biex jidhlu ajruplani kbar li se jkunu tal -istess tip li se jigu ghall SRT.Narrow body
Daw il links li qed nibat huma xiedha ta kemm memx ghalfejn issir it taxiway ghall gol hangar:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/BritishJet-(Hello)/McDonnell-Douglas-MD-90-30/0828106/M/
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6635837
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6510234
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6429235
all the above are jet passengers planes not light planes!!
Joseph M. Scicluna
Mar 4th 2010, 14:27
Well done Maltese Archtect Mr David Xuereb. If this this aviation park had been designed by a "famous" foreign architect, the hangars would have been roofless!!!!
CDamato
Mar 4th 2010, 12:46
Why is the new proposed taxiway meeting runway 31 at an angle rather than perpendicular to the runway, i.e. meeting exactly in front of taxiway "charlie"? What is the reason for this long taxiway when it can be shorter and destroy less fields and trees?
The new proposed taxiway will be barely used (almost DEAD) once that SR Technics move to Park4 in two/three years time, as Medavia movements through this taxiway may not be that much heavy. (Hope this was considered by the authorities!)
This implies that it makes more sense to upgrade the present Medavia Gate from where aircraft presently cross the road and make it more effecient, rather than eliminating permanently the present road leading to Safi to build a taxiway!
Upgrading the present gate simply means to make the gate motorised and build a small control room (very small room) next to the gate, with personell linked to ATC Tower. CCTVs may also be installed to directly link this area with the ATC Tower. In this way the gate can be easily controlled (and operated) by ATC rather than by AFM!
This heavily effects the decision that was taken to build this "maybe useless" taxiway!