The San Antonio International Airport is planning a $1.4 billion expansion that includes a new 17-gate terminal designed to meet the needs of expected passenger growth. The airport’s evaluation committee has picked Hensel Phelps for an up-to $1 billion construction management contract for its Terminal Development Program, according to a news release last week from the City of San Antonio, Texas, pending approval from the San Antonio City Council.
The Greeley, Colorado-based firm, one of the country’s largest aviation construction contractors, would be responsible for overseeing the continued planning and construction of the new terminal and related upgrades such as a multi-story ground transportation center, the expansion of elevated roadways, a new customs inspection area and airplane parking, per the release.
The rest of the project’s $1.4 billion price tag will cover other “enabling” construction projects at the airport, like building demolition, and the costs of other professional services, such as architects.
The Terminal Development Program is the first and biggest component of the airport’s 20-year, $2.5 billion Strategic Development Program, which the San Antonio city council approved in November 2021. There are already two projects underway to provide five more gates until the new terminal is opened.
Under the construction manager at-risk method the city is using, Hensel Phelps would be capped at the $1 billion mark and will have to work with the architect to control building costs. City officials say money for contingencies and inflation has been built into the budget, according to local ABC affiliate KSAT 12.
Hensel Phelps will be required to bid out approximately 85% of the work, which will create opportunities for local and disadvantaged business enterprises, City Manager Erik Walsh said in the release.
The San Antonio City Council is expected to vote Dec. 12 on whether to make the evaluation committee’s choice official, and only one council member has expressed resistance thus far, according to the San Antonio Express-News. If work goes ahead as planned, construction will begin in late 2024 and be finished in the second quarter of 2028.