Toronto, ON – October 11, 2012: Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) announced today that it has achieved Substantial Completion on the construction of the Quito International Airport project as scheduled.
Aecon has built the airport as part of a 50/50 joint venture with Andrade Gutierrez Constructores S.A., a construction company based in Brazil. Work on the engineer/procure/construct contract involved all of the critical infrastructure required to make the airport operational, including the passenger terminal, runways, taxiways, control tower, and ancillary buildings such as cargo and catering, ground service facilities, as well as the supply and integration of the IT, navigation and security systems. In addition to having been granted the Substantial Completion Certificate, the airport has received the Certificate to Operate from the Ecuadorian Civil Aviation Authority.
“We are immensely proud to have reached this significant milestone on this complex greenfield project,” says John M. Beck, Chairman and CEO of Aecon Group Inc. “This achievement would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts and support of the Aecon team, our partners, lenders and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, a Canadian government agency.”
The airport has been constructed for Corporaciσn Quiport S.A. (Quiport), the concessionaire of the airport in which Aecon holds a 45.5 per cent economic stake. Aecon's partners in Quiport are: CCR S.A., Airport Development Corporation of Toronto and HAS Development Corporation of Houston, Texas (affiliated with the Houston Airport System). Senior lenders of the project are: US-based Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Export-Import Bank of the USA, the Inter-American Development Bank, as well as Export Development Canada.
"I am very proud of the accomplishments of Aecon and its partners in completing the new international airport in Quito. Aecon has demonstrated not only the quality that Canadian firms can bring to international infrastructure projects, but also the importance and value of corporate social contributions to local employment, environmental sustainability and other social issues," said Marc Whittingham, President and CEO of the Canadian Commercial Corporation.
As previously announced by the Mayor of Quito, the airport will officially open to air traffic on February 20, 2013, to allow for the completion of third-party work on airport access infrastructure and related facilities.
Aecon Group Inc. is a Canadian leader in construction and infrastructure development providing integrated turnkey services to private and public sector clients. Aecon is pleased to be consistently recognized as one of the Best Employers in Canada.