Gold Coast Runway

Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

Client

Gold Coast Airport Limited (GCAL).

Services to client

• Approvals
• Community consultation
• Environmental
• Noise modelling
• Engineering
• Air operations
• Jet blast modelling
• CFD modelling

GCAL intends lengthening its main runway by 458m to enable growth in the type and loads of aircraft the airport can accommodate.

The Runway Extension Project requires a Major Development Plan under the Airports Act. Maunsell was appointed by GCAL to manage and undertake the process of preparing the major development and managing the approvals process with the Commonwealth Government. The process includes community consultation, environmental assessments and engineering concept planning.

From the start of the commission, Maunsell worked very closely with the GCAL management team. This “integrated team approach”, rather than a more traditional client/consultant relationship ensured excellent communication, fast response to queries, and a joint approach to project risk management.

A unique service provided to GCAL, in the course of this work, was modelling of jet blast from aircraft in close proximity to the airport boundary. The modelling was conducted using Computational Fluid Dynamics and high capacity computing resources to demonstrate the performance of various configurations of blast walls.