PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Halifax Stanfield International Airport is Atlantic Canada’s principal full-service airport, providing passengers and cargo clients access to markets around the world. The airport offers non-stop flights to more than 40 destinations in Canada, the U.S., the Caribbean and Europe, and serves on average almost 12,000 passengers every day. This air access provides options for local travellers and exporters while creating opportunities to attract visitors to Canada’s beautiful Atlantic region. More than 5,600 full-time-equivalent jobs contributing $355 million annually in direct income rely on the airport.

To maintain high service standards and its status as the hub for Atlantic Canada, the Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) embarked on a multi-year Airport Improvement Program (AIP). When it needed to install new equipment vital to powering the airport’s operations, HIAA called Black & McDonald (B&M) to apply its expertise to ensure its power system remains fail-safe.

B&M SCOPE OF WORK

B&M was responsible for the installation of the new 4,160 V switchgear in a new addition to the main substation at the airport, along with all 4,160 V electrical controls between the existing and new switchgear and generators. The project produced challenges for B&M, but its team of construction professionals were able to spot them, address the problems and complete the project on time and on budget.

BENEFITS TO CLIENT AND PROBLEMS SOLVED

The project posed challenges for the B&M team on-site, such as having to run power in parallel with the generator installation project so that it completed both projects at the same time and to meet the commissioning requirements. B&M performed multiple after-hours shutdowns to run all the associated control wiring inside the existing 4,160 V switchgear. Therefore, the new and existing systems worked simultaneously. B&M successfully turned over the complete operational system to the HIAA in the summer of 2017 to ensure the airport had a reliable back up emergency power system to run the entire terminal.