The number of passengers at Milan Bergamo Airport grew by 14 times since 2003, hitting the record-breaking 13 million by the end of 2019. In an effort to improve the service, the airport invested € 435 million in its 2030 development plan. The first phase was the 70,000 m2 East terminal, scheduled for opening in April 2020.

 

We were approached by Milesi Geom. Sergio construction company with the problem of engineering a high-capacity stormwater dispersion basin that would serve the airport’s infrastructure areas. The existing terminals remained operational during construction, so along with the basin’s efficiency, the building speed was vital in maintaining as little disruption as possible.

 

Solutions such as concrete pipes and wells were weighing several tons, which made them difficult to handle and transport. Gravel, on the other hand, demanded large excavation depths and volumes in order to provide efficient drainage.

 

Our experts suggested Aquabox: it was modular, lightweight, stackable, and exceedingly faster to install, taking dozens of truckloads less to transport. It was also recycled, high load-bearing, 100 % inspectable, and had 96 % retention capacity, coming forward as a far more efficient and sustainably profitable solution than the alternatives.

 

Aquabox was our newest product at the time, announced just months before, but was recognized as perfect for the task, getting the immediate application in the field. The basin was built with a 270 m3 capacity (14.25 x 13.50 m surface and a 1.4 m height) by using 2,704 Aquabox and 64 Aquabox Cube elements.