New Orleans Airport speeds up rehab effort

An $82.5-million rehabilitation project is well underway at New Orleans International Airport, local officials say.

Though airport representatives admit that the facility had long been in need of repair, the havoc caused by Hurricane Katrina made a renovation program inescapable.

Sean Hunter, Airport Aviation Director, said that repairing the terminal and concourse roofs - which were ripped off by the Hurricane - would cost $11.5 million, and would be partly funded by an $8 million grant from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Transportation.

"We've been meeting with members of the community about how to make the airport more attractive [and] what we want it to look like," Mr Hunter said to the New Orleans CityBusiness newspaper.

As well as the roof repair, the renovation will include improvements to the airport's roadway system, upgrading of security facilities, the construction of additional walkways, and brand new kiosks for the baggage claim area.

Hunter confirmed that work would begin soon: "The major renovations have already been bid and soon will be awarded."

It is hoped that the rehabilitation will help to attract more post-Katrina flights to the airport.

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