£40m pier set for airport

A new £40 million international aircraft pier will start taking shape at Birmingham International Airport next year, it was revealed today.

The three-level pier will be the first stage of a long-term £1 billion-plus investment which includes a £120 million runway extension which could be up and running by 2011 - in time for the London Olympics.

The 400-metre extension will mean West Midlanders will be able to fly direct to countries around the globe, with the first destinations likely to be Los Angeles and Orlando.

Changes to the draft airport masterplan were unveiled by acting managing director Joe Kelly, who said the application for the runway extension would be submitted to planners before the end of this year and that if was successful work would start by spring 2009.

And there could be direct services to China well before 2030, the period covered by the plan.

Revised forecasts of just over 27 million passengers using BIA within the next 23 years mean less land will be needed for development, which also means a proposed second runway will certainly not see the light of day for decades - if at all.

But a third passenger terminal will be built, with the first phase planned for around 2018 when the airport will be handling around 17 million passengers a year

The masterplan also envisages: the development of commercial and operational facilities at the Elmdon Terminal site, to include a dedicated engine ground running facility; long-term improvements to M42 Junction 6, but no dedicated junction on the M42 for the airport; new facilities so that 35 per cent of passengers use public transport, including a Metro extension from Birmingham city centre.

Mr Kelly said: "Although the detail of the airport's new master plan will be kept under review, the increasing importance of Birmingham International Airport to the region is evident.

"It enables businesses to access markets and people to access holidays and visit friends and relatives - in Europe and the rest of the world.

"The airport is important to the region's economy and it is one of the largest providers of employment in the West Midlands region, supporting some 10,500 full time equivalent jobs in 2006."

By Business Editor Jim Walsh