b'34 TUS FUELING insurance companies, banks and other potential lenders. The lender we chose also had a relationship with Tucson airport officials over the years, says Bourdeau. As a result, obtaining financing was not really an issue. We got a good interest rate to ease the financial obligations of our organization.In addition, the eight airlines that belong to the fuel consortium will not have to pay extra fees. Expenses for the new financing and facility will simply be part of their annual dues. Final contracts and permits were approved in early 2019, and construction began in late 2020.New above-ground storage tanks connectConstruction Challengesto the airports existing hydrant system. Overseeing the final stages of construction fell to Kent Goggan,standing water in a few spots at the project site. But overall, the current consortium chair and manager of fuel operations forthings went smoothly, Goggan reports. The project managers American Airlines. and engineers sent us a weekly report, which kept us updated The heavy lifting, such as getting construction permits and design,throughout construction. was done before I took over, Goggan comments. For the last yearGoggan is especially pleased about the facilitys new operations or so, my job has been to monitor construction. During this period,building, which is equipped with digital and electronic systems to I made on-site visits every six to eight weeks. We coordinated thesemeasure incoming and outgoing fuel. It will be a huge upgrade, visits with officials from the airport as well as Burns & McDonnell.he says. Until now, Swissport, our fuel management company, Contractors have encountered a few minor challengesnamelywas based in the basement under the airports old traffic control unmapped underground utilities and electrical equipment, andtower. This new facility should help their staff considerably. Optimize Your GateManagement with VeociStreamline your processes with:Automatic email notifications to internal and external partiesA fully fledged billing workflowA platform to virtually handle public tenantVisit www.veoci.com/gmaccess and requestsVirtual mapping of airport occupancies andvacancies 1 0 Y E A R SMarch | April 2022AirportImprovement.com'