Auckland Airport has released a video animation giving a first glimpse of what its new $300 million transport hub will look like, with the first stage scheduled to open early next year.
The new 70,000 square-metre facility is built for 650 vehicles including cars, buses, rideshares and taxis and is projected to more than double the amount of public pick up/drop off area currently on offer.
It provides a new arrival and departure point directly outside the international terminal, a new roading layout and convenient public transport connections, all in an under-cover environment.
“This will be the biggest change to Auckland Airport in decades,” Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui says.
“We’re excited to deliver a critical piece of transport infrastructure that will not only free up congestion outside the international terminal and make journeys smoother; we’re also getting on with improving the streetscape around the international terminal with a landscaped pedestrian plaza and covered walkways for what will be a fantastic uplift in the overall travel experience.
“Alongside this, there will be increased native planting in the pedestrian plaza, including mature pohutukawa trees which have been relocated from other parts of the airport precinct.
“This new planting reduces the amount of concrete and asphalt in the area by 20 per cent assisting with the way we manage stormwater on precinct,” Hurihanganui says.
Each day over 50,000 people travellers fly to and from Auckland Airport, with the new transport hub set to play an integral role for commuters.
At 200 metres long, each floor of the four-storey structure is the size of two rugby fields with a double height open ground floor.
Dedicated transport lanes for buses and taxis and public pick up and drop off will run through the base of the facility.
Public transport is being prioritised, using the lanes closest to the terminal. Alongside this, there are separate areas for public pick-up, priority drop off areas for people with accessibility needs, and a drop off zone for commercial transport.
The transport hub will include a 1.2-megawatt rooftop solar array which will help to power 33 public electric vehicle charging stations when the carpark opens.
A new office building is also taking shape at the end of the development.
Designed to a 5-Star Green rating, it will provide office and meeting spaces for the airport’s operational teams and partner organisations when it opens towards the end of 2024.
Land has been protected next to the facility for a future mass rapid transit station to be added when required.
