A strategic link between Sardinia and the world

Another challenge against time by Gruppo Vitali Spa: the renovation of the runway at the "Costa Smeralda" airport in Olbia, an Italian hub, especially during the summer months.

Employed about 80 men spread over three shifts and a hundred machines perfectly coordinated to ensure the laying of the new tarmac (about 5,000 tons) and the positioning of about 150 AVL installations (visual aids – runway lights supporting air navigation). The contract, which is worth around 2 million, is part of a larger renovation and extension project involving a total investment of about 20 million. For the execution of the works, Olbia airport was closed to air traffic from midnight on Monday 2 March to midnight on Saturday 7 March 2015. Only 6 days of intensive work divided into three shifts H24.

Experience and resources for airport maintenance

The Vitali group is increasingly leading in the construction and upgrading of airport runways thanks to the great know-how that it is able to put into practice, state-of-the-art and technologically advanced means as well as a first level organization able to guarantee airport operators very tight closing times.

The group has in fact been awarded a three-year contract for the ordinary maintenance of the airports of Malpensa and Linate. Vitali has also been awarded the requalification works, related to the extraordinary management of runway 35 at Malpensa International Airport: in detail, the works concern two separate contracts relating to the extraordinary management of one of the two runways present at the most important airport in Northern Italy. Vitali has carried out the work of total renovation of one of the two heads of the track (head 35L); this is a deep renovation, which does not only concern the surface layer of the track, but all the subfoundation part, the rehabilitation of plants and ducts and the positioning of bases for AVL – lighting systems that have been totally replaced by new, technologically more advanced and energy-saving (the AVL replaced are 160 in the area affected by the works).

The intervention, in perfect Orio al Serio style that is now a benchmark worldwide as a type of intervention, was carried out with reduced runway but without hindering the operation of the airport with H 24 works and covered a total area of over 40,000 square meters. In addition to this lot, Vitali has also carried out the resurfacing of the runway wear (scarifica and repaving with asphalt carpet specially designed for the loads resulting from the passage of aircraft) for about 60,000 square meters (over 2,200 linear meters).

The works in this case were carried out in successive steps and mainly at night so that, also in this case, the operation of flights that have not been delayed or moved has not been hindered. Everything was done in just 20 days and as already mentioned above, without interfering with the normal flight activities of the airport. The work is part of a 15.5 million modernisation and maintenance project.

A custom asphalt blend to take flight

Gruppo Vitali has been awarded another important contract for the adaptation of the flight infrastructures of the international airport "Capodichino" in Naples, eighth Italian port of call with more than six million passengers/year; was the first Italian airport to be privatised and is operated by Gesac, a subsidiary of the UK’s BAA (British Airports Authority) which also operates London airports.

In October 2010 he returned to being Italian. The contract, awarded by GESAC for a total value of 6 million euros, concerns in particular the enlargement and adaptation of the taxi way, a total area of about 50,000 square meters, as well as the implementation of all works to adapt the various connections. A mobile plant has been installed on site, which is used to produce the material necessary for the construction of the subfloors. The existing surface of the conglomerate has been completely removed and a new asphalt layer has been repositioned; Gruppo Vitali has used state-of-the-art machinery that uses the satellite system to guarantee perfect flatness of the field of intervention. Special asphalt mixtures specially designed by the Vitali team for the Naples airport were also used in view of the particular environmental characteristics of the sites. The project was carried out with an operational airport, they started in October and were completed by December 2016.