BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

THE global consultancy firm, HOK Planning Group, is hoping to recreate the country’s natural beauty inside the Brunei International Airport. HOK Planning Group’s Regional Director and Project Director of the BSB Masterplan, Steven Townsend said that an airport should be a celebration of the host country’s looks.

“The experience when you get to Brunei should really be green, lush and vibrant. It should look like you have just arrived in the jungles of Borneo rather than arriving at a parking lot,” he said at the BSB Development Plan Design Workshop yesterday.

“I have actually worked on seven airports and, in (these country and cities) the first thing you need to do to create confidence is to have a great airport. It is the gateway to your country so you must do it well,” he added.

Townsend said that creating such an airport does not need to be expensive. “You do not need to spend a lot of money, you just have to make sure that you make all the right decisions because this airport will be the gateway to your country,” he said “In this particular case, since you also own the airline, the airport becomes not only a symbol of the country but also the airline. Everyone can benefit from the very positive image that you create at your front door so we must really maximise this,” Townsend added.

He said they would look to coordinate with the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB), as they too, are currently working to develop the airport.

“We can work together in a more synergistic plan that includes all of these so we can collectively make the right decisions,” said Townsend, adding that the airport itself is also undergoing expansion plans.

The BEDB has been given a major task to upgrade the airport, which includes a major refurbishment of the existing terminal building, strengthening of therunway, provision of additional aerobridges and upgrading the operating systems to enhance passenger and flight security.

“If we can get the light rail transit (LRT) system where you can walk right out of the airport, get on a train to get downtown then it will be amazing. If we can do this then you would have really achieved something,” he said. “And this is not something hard to do… for us to implement all of these ideas,” he added. The Brunei Times

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