Lakesmere International lands multi-million dollar airport contract

The international division of UK based roofing and cladding specialist Lakesmere has secured its largest new contract to date following the team’s appointment to complete work as part of the ambitious redevelopment of King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Lakesmere will design some 300,000m2 of Kalzip aluminium roofing covering the airport’s new passenger terminal building, railway station, air traffic control centre, and the main rescue and fire fighting station. Work will commence on the 18-month build programme towards the end of 2012. The extensive design, engineering and detailing work is currently underway and is being resourced from Lakesmere’s UK head office in Winchester. The specialist contractor is working closely with local partner SBG (the Saudi Binladen Group), the largest construction organisation in the country, for client GACA, the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia.

As well as providing a major boost to Lakesmere International’s order book, the new multi-million dollar contract win will also help to create employment opportunities in both Jeddah and the UK. With all site work being completed by local teams, Lakesmere is currently recruiting new staff to its Winchester office to help resource the complex design, engineering and planning work that is required.

Commenting on the new contract win Lakesmere’s Managing Director Mark Davey said: “We are delighted to have been appointed to join the project team at King Abdulaziz International Airport and to continue to strengthen our position as one of the leading building envelope specialists serving the global market. Our expansion into the international aviation sector perfectly complements the work we are currently undertaking in the UK and in particular, the several contracts that we have been awarded in the transport sector including Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 2 building and various projects for Network Rail such as Farringdon and Reading rail stations. These are exciting times for Lakesmere, both home and abroad, and we are well placed to continue to meet these new challenges head on.”

The new multi-million dollar roofing contract at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport is the latest prestigious order to be secured by Lakesmere International in the aviation and infrastructure sector. The new win follows the company’s earlier appointments to complete a roofing package at a new airport in Salalah, Oman, various roofing works on several new ancillary buildings at Muscat Airport and a roofing contract for a new Civilian Aviation Centre and Air Traffic Control centre in Oman.

Lakesmere International has gone from strength to strength following its 2009 launch in Abu Dhabi with further offices now established in Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia in addition to premises in Muscat, Oman. In 2011, Lakesmere International appointed a dedicated General Manager to further develop business in this growing market.