Comodoro Rivadavia’s General Enrique Mosconi airport is building a new terminal but this is nothing unique in today’s rapidly modernizing aviation sector – what is special is that it will be the first terminal built in Argentina with LED (Leadership in energy & environmental Design) certification, marking the lines to be followed with sustainable buildings in order to minimize their impact on the environment via the use of ecological materials and the efficient consumption of drinking water and energy among other aspects.

The construction work, which began two years ago, continues smoothly despite a difficult economic context. As these images from Aviacionline.com show, the demolition of the old terminal was completed at the end of August and the rubble is being cleared to create the space for the remaining sector of the new terminal, approximately equivalent to 40% of the total,surface.

The project has been planned in two phases. Phase 1 was inaugurated last April 22 with a new check-in sector with 12 counters, the new arrivals hall with two conveyor belts for luggage and an upper floor with a new pre-embarkment sector with two gates (one with a passenger bridge). Phase 2 should be finished by next February, resulting in a terminal of 6,500 square metres (as against 4,200 in the old terminal) with four gates for embarkment (two with a passenger bridge) and three carousels to pick up luggage, apart from new sectors for Customs, immigration and SENASA veterinary controls, new washrooms and a new canteen.

Last year 618.257 passengers passed through Comodoro Rivadavia, 7,8% up on the previous year, which ranks it in 12th place among the airports with most traffic in Argentina. The concession is in the hands of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000.