News

The transformation of Tocumen International Airport into the “Hub of the Americas” took another step forward this week. The agency running the airport announced $11 million in contracts to build two new parking facilities, as part of the huge expansion project.

More than $800 million is going into the airport’s expansion, which will include a new terminal designed by the famed international architecture firm Foster + Posters. The master plan is designed to increase the airport’s capacity from 5.8 million to 18 million passengers by 2022.

The parking structures are part of the overall plan to create a modern facility that is easy to access. The terminal is the centerpiece of the expansion, but all the facilities around the airport are also receiving a world class upgrade.

In addition to the parking structures, the new plans call for a special “cell phone parking” area, which will be used for short term parking, according to coverage in La Prensa.

News of the parking deals illustrate the project is moving forward on all levels. Tocumen recently broke ground on a new $3.5 million waste treatment plant, another element that will help establish Tocumen as the top airport in the region.

“The international solid waste management plant will allow the disposal of all the rubbish generated by around 40 airlines and the airport,” Tocumen International Airport general manager, Joseph Fidanque Tercero told reporters. “It is another step towards the more efficient handling of waste through an environmentally safe and clean system to cope with the operative demand that will arise with the future terminal 2.”