Miami-Dade Aviation Department officials hosted a groundbreaking ceremony on October 31 to celebrate the beginning of Miami International Airport’s Central Base Modification and Expansion Project, which will upgrade 34.1 acres of asphalt and concrete pavement originally built in the 1960s that is now used for aircraft parking and movement near MIA’s Concourse D.
The rehabilitated space, slated for completion by December 2022, will better support larger aircraft, maximize aircraft parking locations, improve the area’s stormwater and lighting, and pave the way for passenger growth at MIA.
“This is the first of many groundbreakings we will be hosting in the coming months and years, as we move forward with our new capital improvement program. MIA grew by one million passengers in 2018 and is on track for another record-breaking year in 2019, which makes modernization projects like the Central Base renovation all the more essential to accommodating our growth and maximizing our efficiency”. Said Lester Sola, MIA Director and CEO.
The Central Base project has a construction cost of $76.2 million; 75 percent of which is being funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and 50 percent of the remaining cost being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation.
The Central Base gate is part of MIA’s $5 billion, airport-wide capital improvement program, which will enable MIA to serve a projected 77 million travelers and more than four million tons of freight projected by the year 2040.
