Iuliia Tore New video from London City Airport highlights huge civil engineering works in King George V Dock as piling works get underway A new video from London City Airport goes behind-the-scenes of the vast civil engineering project taking place in King George V Dock, as part of the £480 million City Airport Development Programme (CADP).
Because of London City Airport’s unique location in London’s Royal Docks, in order to create the new ‘land’ upon which new airport infrastructure will be constructed, the airport must install over one thousand ‘piles’, which will support a 75,000m2 concrete deck. The CADP Delivery Partner, Bechtel, is leading the project alongside main contractor BAM Nuttall.
A pile is a supporting column, comprising a steel casing with a steel cage inserted and filled with concrete. Each casing is typically 17.5m long and 1.0m to 1.2m in diameter. After embedding the casing into the dock bed, a further 4m is excavated beneath the base of the casing which is then filled with the cage and concrete.
Three piling barges are now in situ in King George V Dock as the first stage of piling and decking gathers pace. The huge £85 million two-year project forms an essential first phase of the City Airport Development Programme, estimated for completion in the first half of 2020. The overall programme is expected to be complete in 2022. The video has been published to coincide with the start of piling works in the area directly south of the existing aircraft stands 21 to 24, also known as the East Pier. It is in this location where the brand new terminal facilities will be constructed, above the dock waters. The completed deck will also support a new parallel taxiway for aircraft, enabling an additional 8 flights per hour at peak, access to new routes and markets, and the facilities to welcome 6.5 million passengers per year by 2025.
