Maintaining economic competitive advantage in today’s globalized market requires adequate transportation capacity.
This is especially true for Taiwan, which considers itself “The Hub of Asia” and a gateway to the Asia region.
AECOM’s aviation experts collaborated with the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) to provide a blueprint for the Taoyuan International Airport (TIA) development. With the rapid growth of freight and passenger flights in the Asia Pacific region, the TIA will play an important role in connecting local and international markets, which would effectively promote regional development and boost Taiwan’s competitive standing.
TIAC embarked on an ambitious development plan to expand and transform the airport into a major airline hub in Asia. As part of this plan, a third terminal and a third runway will be built. AECOM was appointed by the TIAC to undertake the preliminary planning for the proposed Code F Runway 3.
The proposed third runway will be parallel to the two existing runways and separated from the existing northern runway to allow for independent operations. As a first step, the project team undertook extensive topographical and geotechnical (borehole) surveys to provide the technical basis for the subsequent engineering assessments. Runway length analysis and runway separation studies were carried out to determine the optimal placement of the runway with the given land availability, obstacles and airport boundary constraints.
The outcome of this Preliminary Planning Study will include a clearly defined planning solution for the new Runway 3 including an agreed runway length, RET positions, other airfield taxiway connections, an agreed operational category for the runway, definition of the required navigational aids (NAVAIDS), aeronautical ground lighting (AGL) and Advanced-Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS), an agreed preliminary pavement thickness design and other engineering solutions for master grading, drainage and hydrologic works. The service is provided by AECOM as the leading partner in the joint venture with CECI Engineering Consultants Incorporated. This project is being implemented in line with the Taoyuan International Airport Execution Plan Update project. The integration of the two projects will define the long-term master plan for TIA.
AECOM partnered with CECI Engineering Consultants Inc. for this project, where we merged our professional experience and capability in aviation and traffic with CECI’s local expertise.
The Taoyuan International Airport (TIA) was built in 1979 and continues to grow and serve an increasing number of passengers. To meet future development needs, in 2012 the Taoyuan International Airport Corporation (TIAC) launched a program to upgrade the old versatile navigation facilities and an integrated to be a smart and humanized air-side control system.
The project involves the reconstruction and relocation of the existing WC taxiway into two new parallel taxiways, namely W1 and W2, to provide space for the airport’s third terminal. The scope of work for this project included the construction and installation of taxiways, four taxiway bridges above existing out-linking roads, airport ground lighting (AGL) system, airside service roads, circulation loop underpass inside of the TIA zone, underpass adjacent to the Puxing Creek, related demolishment and traffic maintenance work.
To realize the future blueprint of TIA, our team contributed detailed engineering, basic AGL design for turnkey tendering and integrated landscape design. The new built taxiway bridges will be capable to accommodate larger passenger aircrafts like Boeing B-787. The structure and performance safety of taxiway bridges were carefully considered and designed. The application of Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the design process was also a new technology in Taiwan’s civil engineering space. In this instance, BIM was used to build a platform to develop an integrated information system for airport operation and maintenance. Aerial and road traffic were also considered in the design, interface treatment, construction period and traffic maintenance for this project.
As Taiwan’s most important aviation hub, TIA aims to make a beautiful impression of the country for both returning and visiting passengers. To ensure the aesthetic appearance, a humble but elegant style was adopted in structural engineering and landscape design.
Cities without a long-term development strategy inevitably run into short-term challenges.
In a fast-changing global economy, cities must have a visionary blueprint that not only provides solutions but rejuvenates the local economy to grow sustainably.
Taoyuan City currently has a population of 2.2 million. The city is where Taiwan’s largest international airport is located and is connected to Taipei via the MRT service which has been running since 2017. Taoyuan is also the largest industrial city in Taiwan and accommodates several high-tech industry clusters. The total GDP of the city’s manufacturing industries was estimated at USD91.6 billion as of 2011.
In 2015, AECOM was commissioned by the municipal government to develop a strategic vision plan to guide the city in its short-, medium- and long-term development. The plan addressed six major and interconnected concerns of the city, including transition in demography, industrial development, agricultural development, spatial structure, sustainable development and transportation. A comprehensive vision plan was completed in 2018.