Significant Power Clause For Mangere

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30453, 29 May 1964, Page 3

Significant Power Clause For Mangere

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, May 28. A £190,000 electrical contract begun at the Auckland international airport at Mangere provides for power to be supplied to the airport operations building in February next year to enable the Civil Aviation Administration to embark on the installation of navigational aids.

The fact that the scheduled opening of the airport late next year is dependent on the installation and testing of the navigational aids give this clause in the contract unusual significance. The operations building and the airport control tower will be finished next February but a start has yet to be made on buildings to accommodate the instrument landing system equipment, the surveillance radar transmitting and receiving stations and the meteorological radar equipment.

The splendid progress being made on development of the £lO million airport by the Ministry of Works and its contractors was made plain to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nordmeyer), the deputy-leader (Mr Watt) and five Auckland Labour members, when they toured the site with the project engineer, Mr E. A. Flynn, today. Fire Equipment In Wellington tonight, the Minister of Civil Aviation (Mr McAlpine) announced that fire-fighting and rescue equipment worth £40,000 would be bought as part of the Government’s plans to have every facility ready for the opening. “In the building and equipping of Mangere to full international standard in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation requirements, the Department of Civil Aviation is providing the airport with the very latest in fire-fighting and rescue gear,” said Mr McAlpine. Tenders would be called for the equipment to be fitted in New Zealand to chassis already purchased by the department, he said. Six Crash Units The vehicles were six crash fire-fighting units suitable for duty on or about the airfield. Two of these would be fast, first-line machines carrying 800-gallon .tanks of water and 120 gallons of foam compound, and three would be of 1200-gallon capacity plus 120 gallons of foam compound. Each 800-gallon machine would be fitted with a foam monitor—a swivelling nozzle mounted on top of the cab for fighting any fire likely to be encountered.

A faster, lighter type of vehicle designated an initial rescue unit would have 6001 b

of dry powder fire extinguisher, power saws, floodlights and all general “break and entry” tools. It would precede any others on an alert and would carry the chief fire officer. All six vehicles would be linked with each other and with the airfield control tower on a general purpose radio frequency. The lighter vehicle would have extra radio equipment working on the same frequency as Auckland Metropolitan Fire Board tenders to facilitate co-ordination, said Mr McAlpine.