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T.Y. Lin International Wins 2019 ENR Global Best Projects Award for Tocumen International Airport Expansion Program in Panama

T.Y. Lin International Wins 2019 ENR Global Best Projects Award for Tocumen International Airport Expansion Program in Panama

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T.Y. Lin International Wins 2019 ENR Global Best Projects Award for Tocumen International Airport Expansion Program in Panama

T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized, full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announces that the Tocumen International Airport Expansion Program in Panama City, Panama, has received the 2019 Global Best Projects Award from Engineering News-Record (ENR) in the Airport/Port category. TYLI served as the Lead Landside and Airside Design Engineer for the design-build project, which transformed and modernized Central America’s busiest airport. The project added a 116,000-square-meter terminal and 20 gates, along with infrastructure upgrades for larger aircraft to increase capacity. TYLI and its project partners accepted the 2019 Global Best Projects Award at the ENR Global Awards Dinner on October 2, 2019, in New York, New York.

The ENR Global Best Projects Awards identify and honor the project teams behind outstanding design and construction efforts of the past year, with the distinct rule that at least one firm involved in the project must be working outside of its home country. A record number of 32 projects located in 20 different countries around the world were submitted for the 2019 awards competition.

“We are very pleased that ENR has selected the Tocumen International Airport Expansion Program for a 2019 Global Best Projects Award,” said Mariano Valle, P.E., Senior Vice President and Director of TYLI’s South Region and Caribbean and Latin America Division. “This important project solidifies Tocumen International Airport’s position as a leading aviation hub in Latin America. It also underscores T.Y. Lin International’s commitment to providing innovative engineering solutions for our clients worldwide.”

TYLI’s scope of work comprised numerous improvements to the airport landside and airside transportation infrastructure, as well as extensive utility works. This included the addition of landside multimodal transportation facilities that consisted of four miles of roadway corridor, terminal upper and lower vehicular drives, two roundabouts, and a partial cloverleaf interchange connection to the existing highway system, all to support the new, signature terminal building.

TYLI also designed a new jet fuel system for Terminal 2, which included fuel hydrants for each gate and a looped jet fuel pipeline from the new terminal to the fuel storage facility. A new 5,000 gallons per minute fuel pump station and three new 25,000-barrel fuel storage tanks were also designed.

On the airside, the project included 20 aircraft parking contact positions and seven aircraft remote positions, as well as a “2 narrow body for 1 wide body” parallel taxiway system, a first in Panama. These airside improvements ensure the flexibility and efficiency of aircraft operations in and out of the terminal area.

TYLI’s utility design included the installation, integration, and relocation of water mains, sewer mains, a water treatment plant, and 14,000 linear feet of 36-inch-diameter regional sewer collector main. A new utility and energy center was also added onsite. Landside drainage works included areawide surface water management and the relocation and channelization of 1.2 miles of the Tocumen River.

An integrated ground transportation system was also developed to merge new and existing terminal roadways, service roads, bus terminal, cargo and delivery areas, and rental car and parking facilities. The use of more durable asphalt and concrete for the project set new milestones in Panama and Central America.

The new terminal for Tocumen International Airport was officially inaugurated on April 29, 2019. With the completion of the expansion program, the modernized airport now provides a world-class gateway to Panama and a facility that can handle approximately 25 million passengers each year.

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