Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, in its mid-year status report released Tuesday, said that much of its capital improvement program has been completed.
Hartsfield-Jackson is in the midst of a 10-year, $6 billion-plus capital improvement plan to address growth. The CIP has largely been funded with bonds issued by Atlanta and officials are eying more debt in the near future, said Hartsfield-Jackson’s general manager, Ben DeCosta.
The CIP includes funding for a fifth runway, a consolidated rental car facility, and an international terminal. Officials say the fifth runway has helped save airlines more than $250 million in cost-related delays.
The consolidated rental car facility, scheduled to open in November 2009, will house all airport rental car operations and streamline the rental car process for more than 2.2 million customers annually.
The international terminal is scheduled to open in 2011. The hope is that it will better position the airport to handle an anticipated growth in international travel.
An economic downturn and rising fuel costs combined with competition in the airline industry make it even more critical to control costs and enhance operational efficiency, according to the status report.
No date has been noted for the next bond issue.
