GENERAL: AIA: Airport welcomes accelerated Manukau Harbour crossing

26 Feb 2010 4:00 pm

AIA 26/02/2010 GENERAL

REL: 1600 HRS Auckland International Airport Limited

GENERAL: AIA: Airport welcomes accelerated Manukau Harbour crossing

Media Release 26 February 2010

Auckland Airport welcomes accelerated Manukau Harbour crossing

Auckland Airport welcomes the announcement, made today by the Minister of Transport, Steven Joyce, that the Manukau Harbour crossing project on the South- western Motorway will be complete and open seven months ahead of schedule.

"This is great news and we congratulate the NZTA and their partners on the delivery of this project. The continual improvement of access to and from Auckland Airport is a key regional and national priority," said Auckland Airport's general manager property, Peter Alexander, "and by completing the second Manukau Harbour crossing so far ahead of schedule, the Auckland region will receive, much earlier than expected, the considerable benefits of improved accessibility to our major international transport hub and improved connectivity between Auckland's western, central and southern areas."

The completion of a second Manukau Harbour crossing will also ensure that the benefits of the substantial investment currently underway on other transport projects on the Western Ring Route will be fully realised.

Auckland Airport is committed to improving access to and from the airport for all travellers. Mr Alexander said, "As an advocate for the millions of travellers who fly into and out of Auckland Airport each year, the thousands of airport workers who commute on a daily basis, and the hundreds of companies that are located within or rely on the airport business district, further improvements to public and private transport links are essential if Auckland Airport is to maximise its already significant contribution to the Auckland regional and national economies. The accelerated completion of the second Manukau Harbour crossing is a critical piece of that jigsaw."

Ends

For further information, please contact:

Richard Llewellyn Senior communications manager Auckland Airport +64 (0) 9 255 9089 +64 (0) 27 477 6120

Auckland Airport - World Airport Award Winner 2009 Auckland Airport has been voted the 10th best in the world and the best airport in the Australia Pacific region in the 2009 independent Skytrax World Airport awards. The World Airport Survey is conducted by UK-based aviation research organisation, Skytrax. The survey is completed by approximately 8.2 million travellers from more than 190 airports around the world. The questionnaire asks travellers to evaluate their experiences across 39 different airport service and product factors - from check-in, arrivals, and transfer through to departure at the gate. www.airlinequality.co.nz End CA:00191818 For:AIA Type:GENERAL Time:2010-02-26:16:00:38

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