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iX engineers wins design project award for St Helena Airport
Tshwane: South African engineering firm, iX engineers, has scooped the prestigious International Airport Review’s Design Project of the Year for the St Helena Airport.
In announcing the winners at last month’s award ceremony, the judges said: “To design, build and successfully operate a new airport in a remote location, susceptible to harsh climate conditions, is very impressive. In addition, the fact that they built the airport with sustainability and preserving wildlife is admirable.”
The Airport was designed to open-up quick access to the island for residents and visitors and, in particular, to improve tourism and inward investment. The skills and experience of local residents and ex-patriate workers alike were used to construct and operationalise the airport, and since becoming operational the St Helena Airport has catered to private charters, medevacs and scheduled flight services to St Helena, reducing the island’s isolation and benefiting the island’s economy and future.
iX engineers CEO, Lebo Leshabane, said: “This award is recognition by the aviation industry of the successful design and construction of an airport in one of the world’s remotest locations. This complex and logistically challenging project was undertaken with safety, environment and quality at the forefront.”
St Helena Airport was nominated in two categories in the 2018 awards – Airport of the Year and Design Project of the Year. Over 12,000 votes were cast by the public and consequently, St Helena Airport was shortlisted for both awards, and following a review and evaluation by aviation professionals, St Helena Airport was awarded International Airport Review’s Design Project of the Year, and likewise came joint runner-up in the Airport of the Year category.
“We had to produce a design that could accommodate the intricate and logistical tests (such as safety, environment, international regulations, remote location), and not only did the airport project need to construct an airport and associated infrastructure to meet international aviation standards, it needed to do so in an environmentally friendly way. The only place on the Island that could accommodate the airport is also the most environmentally sensitive,” concluded Leshabane.
About iX engineers (Pty) Ltd
iX engineers was established and registered as a going concern in July 2016 following the acquisition of the Public Infrastructure Business Unit of WorleyParsons RSA and the consulting infrastructure business of Black Jills Engineers (BJE).
iX engineers (Pty) Ltd is a majority black owned consulting engineering company focusing on the private and public infrastructure sector and operates as a private company. The key staff of iX engineers has more than 35 years of collective experience in the infrastructure sector in both the consulting and project delivery markets that commenced as KV3 Engineers and then as WorleyParsons RSA as well as the more than 8 years’ experience of staff joining from BJE.
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