Exolum is awarded the construction and operation of a new fuel supply system at Lima airport
The company will build and operate a new plant and a new hydrant, and will also carry out maintenance and into-plane fuelling activities
As the successful bidder of a tender organised by LAP (Lima Airport Partners), Exolum is to build a new fuel storage plant at Lima airport to increase its capacity, as well as new hydrant system (LIMFuel project). The company will manage the storage facility during the concession period of the Extension Project.
The investment will amount to over 80 million dollars by 2025 and will be carried out in different phases with the new infrastructure becoming operational gradually. Work is already underway to increase the capacity of the plant, build the new hydrant system and connect it to the existing one and the new structures are expected to be operational in 2025.
Juan José Salmón, General Manager of LAP, highlighted that “Exolum is one of the largest Spanish companies in aviation fuel storage, distribution and into-plane fuelling, with over 40 years of experience in the industry and recognised in Europe for its operations in Spanish airports and Dublin. It also has experience in the Latin American market owing to its operations in Panama and Guayaquil. In addition, it invests in R&D and has experience in handling SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), with capacity to implement it in LIM ahead of market trends.”
For his part, Exolum’s CEO, Jorge Lanza, expressed his appreciation for “the trust placed in our company to carry out this ambitious initiative” and underscored “the company’s experience in the construction and operation of facilities for aviation fuel supply, which guarantees maximum quality and safety in the provision of this service.”
The new facility will comprise four storage tanks with a capacity of 8,700 cubic metres each, two defuelling positions, two loading positions for apron into-plane fuelling units, the most advanced safety systems and a station for receipt and connection to a future dedicated pipeline. This pipeline connection will reduce road tanker traffic in the vicinity of the airport and in neighbouring cities.
The project also envisages the supervision of the design and the financing of a new hydrant system for the airport boarding piers which will be equipped with 29 new fuelling positions and connected to the system currently in service, thus improving its efficiency. Phases 2 and 3 are expected to launch in 2029 and 2036 respectively, and consist of the extension of the hydrant system with 20 and 27 additional fuelling positions, respectively.
In order to comply with the highest operating standards, Exolum will also introduce new sustainable supply vehicles and other auxiliary vehicles to facilitate into-plane fuelling operations and reduce CO2 emissions, and will hire over 100 people.
Lima International Airport is the main airport in Peru in terms of volume of operations, concentrating the majority of the country’s international and national flights. In 2019, it recorded 23 million passengers and operated approximately 198,000 flights. Its aviation fuel requirements amounted to 1,278,328 cubic metres.