The management company of Schiphol airport has given an update for “clarity” on the progress of Pier A, its upgraded eight-gate arm of Amsterdam’s main terminal building.
The upgrade and overhaul was first planned in 2012, but construction delays, debacles and restarts have hampered the project.
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Schiphol said it now expects the area to be operational in April 2027, after construction leaders BAM hand over control in December 2026.
“The current schedule is highly precise and includes buffer periods (all weekends and holidays) to catch up on any delays or deal with unforeseen situations,” the company said to reassure customers who feared further delays.
BAM Bouw en Techniek was contracted to complete the terminal wing in August 2022, after the airport owners scrapped the initial contract with a Ballast-Nedam TAV joint venture in 2021.
“The completion of Pier A is not proceeding as expected. We have had extensive discussions about this with the contractor, during which we did not reach an agreement. This is unfortunate for all parties. We are currently working on a plan to complete and deliver Pier A with other contractors as soon as possible,” Hanne Buis, chief projects & assets officer at Royal Schiphol Group, said at the time.
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By GlobalDataBut the delays and renegotiations have taken their toll, and Schiphol said the cost had risen along with the extended schedule.
“The total cost of the Pier A project has increased, primarily due to repair works, delays and a longer project duration,” it explained. The latest estimate is now nearly €1.4bn ($1.5bn), a reported €400m over the original budget.
“We are pleased that we can now confidently look ahead to a new completion date. The complicated Pier A project clearly went far from smoothly under the previous contractor. Delays, quality issues and a legal conflict – none of that helped progress,” remarked executive director of Schiphol infrastructure Sybren Hahn.
“We will get the keys to the new Pier A in December 2026, after which we’ll conduct operational testing of the new systems and hundreds of colleagues and airport partners will learn how to work in the new environment. Then, in April 2027, we will open the doors to passengers and airlines. A lot still needs to be done before then. Together with BAM, we’re putting our shoulders to the wheel,” Hahn added.
The Amsterdam hub’s CFO Robert Carsouw said the turbulent construction journey might have put airlines off, but said he would provide further insight as the project nears completion.
“There are understandably questions about this among the airlines and we will therefore provide more insight into the project in those discussions and explain how Schiphol intends to deal with costs,” Carsouw said.
“We’re building a top-quality pier, paying close attention to every euro spent,” he promised.
