There were more trucks than planes parked at Gold Coast Airport on the past two Saturdays, as two million litres of concrete was delivered for the foundations of the airport’s $50 million Rydges-branded hotel.  

More than 330 trucks delivered about 2,050 cubic metres of concrete – or enough to fill 200,000 suitcases – on the first two Saturdays of June.

Completion of the 3,000sq m concrete slab marked an important milestone for the project and paves the way for the hotel to come out of the ground. A crane will be onsite this week.

Queensland Airports Limited Executive General Manager Property and Infrastructure Carl Bruhn said the task required considerable coordination.

“The most challenging part of this project was its location – in the middle of a busy airport precinct. Meticulous planning went into making sure the airport continued to run smoothly while a massive logistical exercise took place on its doorstep,” he said.

“Trucks were dispatched from north and south of the site – Burleigh Heads and Chinderah – to minimise the traffic impact on roads leading to the airport.

“There were about 100 workers on site during both weekends to get the job done as efficiently as possible.”

The hotel is being built by locally-based construction company Condev on behalf of developer Trepang. Trepang is associated with John Robinson and Nick Paspaley, who have a large hotel portfolio, including two located at airports.

Condev Construction Executive Chairman Steve Marais said his team was extremely proud to be awarded the construction of Gold Coasts Airport’s first hotel.

“It will be very rewarding and exciting to be part of the first airport hotel in such an iconic location,” he said.

Hotel owner, John ‘Foxy’ Robinson, said he was pleased to witness the first major milestone in construction of the hotel and looks forward to continuing to see this first-class hotel come to life.

The 192-room hotel will now start to rise on the site, to the south of the terminal, and is on track to open in mid 2020. The hotel will measure seven storeys and be topped by a rooftop bar and viewing deck.

It will connect via a plaza area to the expanded terminal. The projects are part of almost $500 million being invested in the airport precinct.

Gold Coast Airport welcomed 6.6 million passengers heading to and from southeast Queensland and Northern NSW last financial year, and passenger numbers are expected to more than double by 2037.

The airport is owned and operated by Queensland Airports Limited, which also operates Townsville, Mount Isa and Longreach airports.

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