Auckland Airport’s $5.7b upgrade: The war zone and earthquake relief veteran leading it

“My international work was largely in the humanitarian engineering realm. So I initially started in Sri Lanka … after the 2004 Asian tsunami.

“And then the work that I did following on from that in other countries was similar. You’re working for agencies that are looking at basic human needs, and the most basic being water supply.”

He and his colleagues also contended with issues around food, healthcare, housing and shelter for families, and with infrastructure for hospitals and schools.

Barely five years after that Boxing Day tsunami, a magnitude 7.0 quake struck the impoverished Caribbean nation of Haiti.

He flew into the Dominican Republic and then travelled overland, he said, because the airport in Haiti was closed.

“It was devastating seeing the aftermath of that earthquake. We swung into action looking at basic services, water supply, sanitation, and then moved quickly on to shelter and housing, reconstruction of those elements.”

He was with an NGO, on a British Government-funded programme when helping with Haiti’s post-earthquake reconstruction.

He continued travelling with the UNHCR.

The 2004 Boxing Day tsunami devastated numerous countries. Photo / Chris Skelton

“I was based in Nairobi, Kenya, and then operating in multiple countries around. So I travelled a lot to South Sudan, North Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, numerous countries in and around East Africa and wider Africa.”

Some of what he saw would likely be what many regard as traumatic. He said there were three main ways he decompressed from the more stressful aspects of that work.

“You had the camaraderie of the other people that you were working with, and often in the evening you would gather in a restaurant or bar and be able to share your stories from the day and know that you had other like-minded individuals that could support you.”

His relatives helped too.

“My family’s always been hugely supportive … my wife, obviously, and my children who were with me, but also my extended family would often come and visit us wherever we were in the world, whether it was Sri Lanka or Africa or Geneva.”

He said sports and keeping active also helped.

A Haitian walks out of a cemetery destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince. Photo / Thony Belizaire, AFP

“A lot of what you did was working in a politically nuanced context, but always with a focus on how do you support those individuals who probably through no fault of their own have got caught up in a situation and recognise the humanitarian consequences and bring support through a social justice lens.”

At the airport now, there was less chance of encountering unexploded ordnance or navigating violent political conflict.

But Burt said the project had some similarities with his previous jobs, because infrastructure should be about finding ways to benefit people, whether they were in a post-quake devastation zone or travelling through an airport.

Who builds best?

Inside the Auckland Airport project, where an estimated 1000 workers are currently employed. Photo / Jason Dorday

Having worked for NGOs, the public sector and now with a listed company, Burt might be well-placed to say which if any model best delivered big infrastructure projects.

“While I was at Auckland Transport, I had a good experience through the Eastern Busway programme, which is doing very well and that’s public sector.”

He said whether in the public or private sector, success required avoiding scope creep, keeping a healthy culture within delivery teams, and having a good sense of partnership with delivery partners such as designers and constructors.

“They’re all ingredients that can lead to successfully delivering projects on time and under budget.”

The airport’s $5.7b aeronautical development included a new domestic jet terminal, northern airfield expansion and multiple infrastructure upgrades.

“I’m relatively new in the role,” said Burt, who joined the airport in January.

“But from what I’ve seen, I’ve got a high level of confidence that we’re on track to deliver the programme on time and under budget. Even in the short time I’ve been here, the progress that I’ve seen on-site is phenomenal.

“And travellers will notice that as well … the building’s coming up out of the ground. Ultimately what you’re aiming for is to give the travellers a better, more efficient experience.”

He said the programme aimed to build capacity for future growth and a better customer traveller experience, especially more efficient transfers between international and domestic jet travel. He said a new baggage handling system would also bring improvements.

It has not been without its own sort of politics. Airlines have raised many queries about the cost of the project, since it is partly they who will have to pay.

Soon after Burt met the Herald, the Commerce Commission announced it was proposing more scrutiny of airport spending at Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland. Airlines welcomed that move but the issue was far from decided, with feedback open for several more weeks.

The country’s busiest airport is rolling out several big new projects and expects passenger numbers to double in the next 20 years. Photo / Jason Dorday

The big airports have generally argued enough regulation already existed. Airports must disclose information about important capital projects after key pricing decisions, called price-setting events, every five years.

“It’s a model where it’s fully consulted with the airline partners and it’s quite robust in that the capital plan receives robust challenge from our airline partners.”

In the office are airport staff, contractors, designers and other consultants working on the project. Outside on the new domestic jet terminal site are the head contractors, Hawkins and Southbase, and multiple subcontractors.

“We’ve currently got about 1000 people working on this project, and that number will start to ramp up as we move into next year as the shell of the building is being built, and we’re now moving into the fit-out stage, running the internal services. That demands a lot of sub-trades, so it’s a big operation.”

The airport expected passenger numbers to double in the next 20 years, reaching 38 million air travellers a year by the late 2040s.

Burt said flights were just one part of a passenger journey and he could see similarities across different transport sectors, but aviation had its nuances.

“It’s heavily regulated. There’s a lot of focus on security, particularly the airside elements, and you’re getting everything right in terms of safety and making sure that the operating systems are safe and working smoothly.”

He said the airport, as a listed company, functioned in a different operating context from Auckland Transport (AT).

“We’re very conscious of what shareholders are thinking and we are also aware that we’re an airport of national significance, a gateway to New Zealand. So there’s definitely a political focus on what we do, but it’s different from the local government political world at AT.”

Some parts of aviation have trouble finding staff because of skills shortages.

“A lot of the work we’re doing would be broadly classified as civil construction. So in terms of aviation specialists, that’s probably more about the baggage systems and other components of the build. There’s always a challenge to find and retain good staff, but because this is a significant project, people are attracted to it.

“And also the timing of when we launched it was opportune, where we started ramping up post-Covid, where there was a depression in the construction labour markets.”

He said the project had been able to attract and retain good staff.

Murray Burt in 2006, after spending a year in Sri Lanka doing tsunami rehabilitation work with World Vision. He helped manage the reconstruction of houses, schools and hospitals, as well as water supply and sanitation infrastructure. Photo / World Vision

In his role, Burt will have to look after the core “terminal and tarmac” aeronautical assets, and support utilities such as pipelines, electricity and nearby roads. But the integrated terminal is the biggest piece of new infrastructure.

“What we’re aiming is to get the bulk of the construction finished sometime in 2029. And then there’ll be a period of testing, commissioning and getting the systems up and operational.”

After the integrated terminal, the next piece of the puzzle was a major renewal on the main runway.

“We’re upgrading a taxiway to be what’s called a contingent runway. And then once that’s functional, we can renew the concrete slabs on the main runway.”

After that, the airport’s master plan had more projects aimed at managing growing passenger numbers and eventually, a second runway planned to the north.

“And that will then all connect up via that massive apron that we built, a few years back,” Burt said.

“Part of our current programme of work is to have what they call digital apron management, which is a way of allocating planes to the various gates.”

He said evolving digital technology was helping to achieve more efficient gate use.

The land for the second runway was already designated. Indeed, it’s hard to miss the proposed site on satellite imagery, a long straight series of lines of mostly undeveloped land up towards Ihumātao.

Aviation can be an exciting sector. And the build site had a lot going on. But did he ever miss the sort of work he did overseas?

“With the UN I was working with probably what you could describe as the most vulnerable people in the world, and to make a difference for their lives in a very practical sense was really rewarding work.

“But it’s an age and stage thing for me. I’ve got a family, three daughters and my wife, and we decided as a family that when my girls were reaching the high school years, that we would come back to New Zealand.

“They had New Zealand passports, but had never lived here. So it gave them an opportunity to reconnect with their families … New Zealand’s my home, where I was born and brought up.”

He was not interested in joining the transtasman brain drain either.

“I’m pretty committed to what I’m doing. And I’m motivated by the cause and helping people.

“We’re a really important piece of infrastructure for the country and to be part of growing that and making it fit for purpose for the future is meaningful for me.”

Auckland Airport major projects

Temporary check-in pavilion next to international terminal, opened in March.Integrated domestic terminal combining domestic jet travellers with international travellers, due to open in 2028-29. After domestic jets move to the integrated terminal, the existing domestic terminal will be reconfigured to serve regional flights. Coupled wetland biofilter and giant pond for stormwater resilience. Opened in 2025.Biggest-ever airfield expansion: $465m for parking up to 11 jets and new jet fuel connections. Opened in September 2025.Regional airfield expansion: $147m for four new aircraft stands, for both turboprops and bigger jets, due to open in 2028.Runway rejig: Taxiway Alpha will be made to operate as an alternative or contingent runway usable when the main runway gets closed, before projected runway slab replacements in about 2030.

John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation. He previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and courts.

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