MANCHESTER Airport is marking one year of construction on the biggest investment project in its history by releasing images showing the work completed so far.

The north’s global gateway is spending £1 billion on transforming the airport, work which will see Terminal 2 become 150 per cent bigger and become the focal point of the airport’s operations.

The airport has released time-lapse footage showing how the project has progressed over the past 12 months and a new video tour that gives passengers the chance to glimpse into the airport’s future.

The programme got under way a year ago after a visit by the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling.

Since then, the airport’s skyline has changed dramatically as the first pier has been built and over 70 per cent of the steelwork has been erected on the terminal extension.

It’s one of the biggest construction programmes in the north of England, and there are currently 1,200 people working on site – including 80 apprentices, in trades ranging from plumbing and scaffolding to quantity surveying and civil engineering.

At the peak of the project, at the beginning of 2019, it is expected nearly 1,500 people will be working on site with a target of 150 apprentices.

Since the first spade went in the ground, £185 million has been spent with SMEs in the supply chain within a 35-mile radius of the airport.

Andrew Cowan, CEO of Manchester Airport, said: “This is the largest investment ever made in the airport and will transform the experience for our passengers and airlines alike, as well as creating job and training opportunities for local people and boosting businesses working on the scheme in the process.

"I’m excited to see the first pier open to passengers in just eight months' time and to press ahead with the rest of the scheme, especially the new terminal building, which is in course to be open to passengers by mid-2020.”

The first pier is set to open to passengers in April 2019. At 216 metres long, if it was stood upright it would be the tallest building in Manchester. The terminal extension is on course to open in 2020.

To enable the new pier and terminal extension to be constructed, work has also been progressing on the airfield.

In the first phase of airfield works, the apron has been extended to the west; including new taxiways and apron reconfiguration to allow the pier and additional aircraft stands to be used.

The second phase, which began in June 2018, involves a new taxiway, increasing the capacity of existing taxiways, new aircraft stands and AGL replacement and installation and is part of the reconfiguration of the airfield that will help to feed the redeveloped Terminal 2.

Looking further ahead, after the terminal extension the next pier is scheduled to open in 2022 and the refurbishment of the existing Terminal 2 building will also be completed that year.

Terminal 1 is currently scheduled to close by 2023 with the third pier set to open in 2024. Once completed, Terminal 2 will have capacity to handle over 35 million passengers a year.

The time-lapse footage released shows how the project has developed from the initial works that saw a temporary gate lounge being built to the building of the pier and steelwork for the terminal extension being erected.

Whilst the new video tour shows how the pier and terminal extension currently look and show case how they will look when open to passengers using the latest CGIs.

Take a tour of the pier and terminal extension as it currently looks and how it will look when passengers come to use it - youtu.be/ckRjXfsfmbA

See how the building work has progressed over the last 12 months - youtu.be/LasTz29Fq7k