Arcugnano – Cairo, March 1, 2009 – Gemmo SpA has been awarded the facility management contract for the new Terminal 3 at Cairo International Airport. The signing today, March 1, in the presence of Egypt’s Minister of Transport and Susanna Gemmo. The service, worth more than 17 million euros for three years, will begin in May 2009 while the takeover of the facilities will start as early as next week.
Gemmo signed a multi-disciplinary contract for 31 different activities guaranteeing 24/7 service continuity as the terminal is constantly operational. The service will be carried out through an organization consisting of more than 700 specially trained personnel specializing in activities for airport sites.
In particular, the Company will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of all power systems: medium- and low-voltage electrical distribution, emergency power supply (generators and UPS), and 400 Hz converters. It will also have to manage the thermal power plant for production and distribution of refrigerated area and heating fluids, complete remote control of all energy, thermal, security (fire detection and extinguishment, intrusion detection, video surveillance, etc.), monitoring and control, and signaling systems.
It is also the responsibility of Gemmo to manage the telephone network and data transmission, the in-house call center for all calls for service, cleaning services of all indoor and outdoor areas (parking lots, areas, air side and land side), pest control, gardening and maintenance of green areas as well as maintenance of all civil works in the facility.
The newly constructed T3 at Cairo Airport, designed to handle 11 million passengers a year when fully operational, is spread over a built-up area of 190,000 square meters complemented by two 200-meter by 30-meter fingertips, capable of accommodating a total of 23 aircraft directly connected through so-called boarding bridges. The outdoor parking area is 100 thousand square meters, surrounded by roads covering an area of 160 thousand square meters;, the air side-the outdoor area beyond the gates reserved for aircraft-is about 600 thousand square meters.
Gemmo was awarded the contract by participating in the international tender called by the Egyptian government; of the 13 companies that acquired tender documents, 7 submitted bids and only 3 were judged technically capable of performing the required activities. Among the 3 companies remaining in the race, in addition to Gemmo, were the U.S.-based Linc FS, which specializes in facility management and airport management in particular, and a joint venture between Britain’s WSP and several Egyptian companies. At the end of the evaluation process, which was based on the best combination of technical capabilities and economic offer, Gemmo emerged as the winner, thus being awarded the contract.
“With the acquisition of this order Gemmo takes another step in the direction of internationalization and strengthening its presence in Egypt and in the entire Middle East area where it already counts, among others, interventions such as the Library of Alexandria in Egypt, the management of CityStar, a multipurpose center in the Egyptian capital, the Libyan refinery in Mellitah, and the airport and hospital in Tripoli,” said Mauro Gemmo, president of Gemmo SpA. “That an Italian company, completely privately owned and still run by the family that founded it, wins an international tender in competition with global facility management giants is not everyday news. This makes us particularly proud because it confirms that our leadership in facility management of major infrastructure works is now recognized by markets around the world,” he concluded Mauro Gemmo.