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The first terminal expansion at Miami International Airport since 2007 got a green light last week from county commissioners, who voted unanimously without discussion for the $600.6 million construction contract with a joint venture to design and build an expansion of the South Terminal in just over four years.
The deal with Lemartec-NV2A JV will extend the South Terminal eastward, expanding the terminal and adding a new Concourse K with six domestic gates geared to meet growing demand.
After the vote, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told commissioners that she had given them all invitations to a June 24 groundbreaking for the expansion.
A statement from the mayor later called the expansion plan “a truly transformative milestone for our airport…. We are making visionary, future-ready investments that will build a stronger, more vibrant airport…”
Of the six new gates, three will eventually become international, Aviation Director Ralph Cutié told Miami Today in 2023 as the project was being shaped.
Completed in 2007, the South Terminal extended from Miami International Airport’s Central Terminal and added 1.7 million square feet to the airport. It was the first major expansion since the airport was built in the 1950s.
The current project features a three-level expansion of the arrivals, departures, and passport control areas in the South Terminal to the east of Concourse J that will add the six passenger gates with their associated holding rooms. The South Terminal, which includes concourses H and J, now serves 22 airlines with domestic and international flights and handles 20% of passengers traveling through the airport.
The airport is working on expansions to meet growing demands, as passengers increased to nearly 56 million last year with the expectation of reaching 70 million by 2040.
The expansion contract went to a joint venture between Coconut Grove-based Lemartec and NV2A. The two firms earlier formed a joint venture to build the new Cruise Terminal G at PortMiami.
