Work on a new air traffic control tower at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is scheduled to start before the end of the year, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said yesterday.
The new control tower, which will complement the existing one that has been in operation for 34 years, is part of an overall renovation of the airport under a government initiative to create a Taoyuan Aerotropolis.
In addition to constructing a new control tower, which is scheduled to be completed in 2018, the renovation project also calls for a makeover of Terminal 1 and the construction of a third terminal.
The CAA said that a new control tower is needed because the existing tower will soon be unable to cope with the growing number of flights handled by the airport.
The airport dealt with approximately 100 flights a day in its early years, but sees more than 500 flights a day at present and will face 1,200 flights by day by 2030, according to CAA projections, well beyond the current control tower’s capacity.
The new 65m-high tower will function alongside the existing 46m-high tower to provide improved visibility of the airport and air traffic patterns.
Buildings with other functions will also be constructed in the tower area.
The CAA estimates that the new tower and its auxiliary buildings will cost NT$770 million (US$26.21 million).
Additional reporting by staff writer
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