THE Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) has awarded a contract to Mitie to carry out runway repairs at Mount Pleasant Complex, the RAF airfield in the Falkland Islands.
The work will be undertaken by Dyer and Butler, which also completed the resurfacing of the site’s alpha loop taxiway earlier this year.
The site is an important overseas base for the Ministry of Defence and is run by UK Strategic Command. The £20 million project will replace 20,000m2 of airfield operating surfaces to resurface the Foxtrot taxiway and the threshold, which is the part of the runway where aircraft touch down when landing.
Construction will commence shortly and equipment and material is already making the 8,000-mile journey to the islands by ship from the UK.
Maj Brad Southall, DIO’s project manager, said, “Working on the other side of the world requires even closer collaboration than normal. We are working closely with UK Strategic Command, British Forces South Atlantic Islands, Mitie and Dyer and Butler to ensure the success of the project.
“We’re also lucky to have the support of 8 Engineer Brigade Royal Engineers, who have supplied military engineers. They will undertake quality control and liaise between the construction team and the airfield personnel so we can ensure that we can work effectively around continuing air operations.”
Charlie Antelme, MD, Defence, Mitie, added, “We are proud to support the UK armed forces in their crucial operations both at home, and overseas. Building on our previous successful refurbishment works at the Mount Pleasant Complex, we look forward to applying the same specialist expertise to this project, ensuring the safety of aircraft arrivals and departures for years to come.”
The repairs need to be undertaken quickly so they are complete before the start of the South Atlantic winter, as poor weather conditions make construction next to impossible during the winter months. The work is therefore expected to complete in March 2025.
