Work continues on the development of plans to create a new integrated arrivals and departures terminal at Jersey Airport. Internal work on the demolition of the current arrivals terminal, including removal of walls and utility services on the unoccupied upper floors has started and is being undertaken by local contractors DB Cummins. In addition, more than 30 stakeholder sessions have taken place to provide opportunity for all interested parties to provide valuable feedback on the future development.
Part of the original plan was to upgrade the passenger pier in Phase Two of the project by creating an upper floor linked to the new airside departures lounge with direct access to all departure gates. However, based on the feedback from these sessions, a decision has been made to bring this upgrade forward. As a result, a revised planning application has been submitted with a decision likely in February 2019. This will therefore, delay the original start date for the build of Phase One (which was to create a first-floor airside departure lounge and new security area).
As with all its investments, funding for these types of projects comes directly from Ports of Jersey from its own commercial revenues and does not call on financial support from the States of Jersey, with the actual phasing of projects based on the company’s future cash flows. Ports of Jersey continues to work alongside the Channel Islands Competition & Regulatory Authority (CICRA) to agree its long-term pricing framework so that the company can fully commit to the funding of the integrated terminal project alongside proposed other major capital investments. CICRA has indicated that the outcome of its process and, the consequent decision on Ports of Jersey Long Term Pricing Framework, will not be known until June 2019.
Whilst Ports of Jersey believes the outcome will provide greater clarity over future cashflows, at this time there is some uncertainty over the outcome. In light of this, it has been decided to take a prudent approach and temporarily hold back from committing to the necessary funding of £42m and consequently, the actual construction work on the integrated building has been paused.
This project remains a key priority for Ports of Jersey and will proceed. In the meantime, to maintain momentum, an important phase of work that was originally scheduled for later in the programme is also being brought forward. This relates to the requirement by the UK Civil Aviation Authority for Ports of Jersey to implement a 30-metre ‘no-traffic’ exclusion zone immediately outside the terminal buildings, which will bring Jersey in line with other UK airports. (This legislation came into force in 2017 and to date, Jersey has had exemption based on a clear commitment that it would be implemented as part of the new integrated terminal project).
As the name suggests, this exclusion zone will mean that only authorised vehicles such as buses, coaches and taxis will be permitted to drop off/pick up outside the main terminal entrance doors. Ports of Jersey acknowledges the significant change this will bring to airport users and plans are currently being developed to realign the existing roads within Jersey Airport, which will include revised drop-off and pick up zones. These plans will be published within the next three months to allow feedback from customers and key stakeholders.
