Double celebration at Auckland Airport

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Don Huse (airport chief executive) and Prime Minister Helen Clark unveil the plaque for the opening of the new level of the international pier.

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MP Mark Goshe, Prime Minister Helen Clark and Auckland Airport chief executive Don Huse lead a tour of the new level of the international terminal pier, followed by minister Harry Duynhoven.

Double celebration at Auckland Airport

Prime Minister Helen Clark today officiated at a dual celebration held at Auckland International Airport today. It was the official opening of the new level of the international terminal pier and celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the official opening of Auckland Airport.

The Prime Minister joined Manukau mayor Sir Barry Curtis, airport chairman Wayne Boyd and chief executive Don Huse as well as an official party on a tour of the new pier level and its facilities, before unveiling a plaque and commemorating the forty years that the airport has been open.

The international terminal pier separation project added another floor to the existing pier, in line with international security requirements. The $47 million project took three years of planning and 17 months of construction. Airport chief executive Don Huse says “The entire project team and wider airport community can be justifiably proud of the development, which has been completed on time, on budget and to specification.

“The following statistic tells a powerful story of the growth of the airport: In 1977, when the international terminal was first opened, the floor area came to just over 12,000 square metres. Today, thanks to many alterations and additions, the size of the terminal is over eight times as large at nearly 100,000 square metres.”

Prime Minister Helen Clark said that in its forty-year history, Auckland International Airport has grown to be the second busiest in Australasia. "Auckland International Airport has become one of New Zealand's key economic assets, and is set to develop and expand even further over the next forty years," Helen Clark said.

ENDS

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