At this year’s North Carolina Airports Association (NCAA) Conference and Exposition, AVCON Aviation Project Manager, Rob Hambrecht, PE spoke to attendees about Construction Inflation and Economics in the Aviation Industry. He was joined by Amy Harris, MBA, CM, Financial Planning & Analysis Manager at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, Rachel Bingham, PE, Aviation Development Manager/Deputy Director at NCDOT, and moderator Dan Danieley, President/CEO at the Burlington Alamance Airport Authority.
The panel covered many topics regarding Financial Planning for Construction Projects and walked through a mock financial planning process from three different perspectives, the airport, the state agency, and the consultant, below are a few key takeaways:
- Airports are updating their Capital Improvement Plans all the time! It’s good to have a baseline plan but be flexible when new or emerging needs come up.
- Adding contingency in your CIP projects can help with rising cost estimates along the way.
- You have control over materials and methods when designing a project, look at those two things when dealing with high construction costs to help guide you through the process. What is “Mission Critical” for the project? Work the budget around that overarching goal.
- Debriefing with contractors after receiving high bids to see where an agreement could be reached, what inefficiencies they might foresee, if they have recommendations, etc.
Visit the North Carolina Airports Association (NCAA) website