How much does a heliport cost?

[upsangel]

Hi everybody,
i m doing a research on the cost of a new heliport, I found some digits on internet but they have a too wide spectrum:

USA: San Francisco G. Hospital - 3m USD
UK: cardiff heliport - 3.8m GBP
UK: Southampton G. Hospital - helipad - 120k GBP
China: some heliports for tourism - 20m USD.... (why made in China so expensive??)

anyone can have a guess with me how much does a typical heliport cost? i.e. landing area for 4~6 heli, their hangar, engineering area, and headquarter building.

thx

[lelebebbel]

To answer that with a question: How much does a house cost?

[Savoia]

UPS Angel: You might just as well ask how long is a piece of string because heliports are as diverse as the surroundings you find them in!

Just take a look at the opening page of the Heliports Thread (http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/446683-heliports.html) to see a representative cross-section of the diversity of facilities out there .. each of them attracting their own unique set of costs.

Even if you specify the number of pads (you mentioned up to six) as well as maintenance and ops/admin accommodation the prices will vary wildly according to the design specs and the location of the facility.

Take a look at the facility in post #1 of the abovementioned thread and compare it with the second photo in post #3 - both have landing spots maintenance and ops/admin accommodation but .. they are constructed according to substantially different design specifications.

In summary; each facility attracts its own set of unique costs according to location and design spec. The location affects the technical requirements involved in construction while the design spec (aside from having to comply with minimum national aviation authority requirements .. and not every operator abides by these) are at the discretion of the developer.

[Saint Jack]

First question: Private or public use? If it's for private use the requirements are minimal (read 'cheap') and will vary from juristiction to juristiction. Public-use heliports are equipped and manned similar to airports and will require certification plus airport-like facilities such as crash-rescue capabilitiy, air-ground communications, passenger handling facilities, security etc. etc. (read 'expensive'). If you add refuelling capability then it's much more expensive.

You've answered your own question about China, i.e. heliports for tourism means 'public-use' therefore expensive.

[upsangel]

Savoia: thank you for your advice, I understand a wild and genuine guess is most difficult, you idea on the different variable should be the road from gestimation to estimation.

[upsangel]

hi Saint Jack: thanks for your advice.
i think my study is on the "expensive side" because the proposal is for the gov(pbulic), and i think its reliability should be robust (for rescue and emergency action) and also well-equipped for a wide range of task

underground fuel refilling facilities is envisaged too

[Savoia]

UPS Angel: I am sure we all want to help you but .. the variables are just that .. variable.

As Saint Jack has just said, one needs to determine whether the facility is for private or public use. Then a professional survey should be carried-out to determine the location's suitability as a heliport. In some cases obstacle clearance requirements mean that surrounding 'obstacles' may have to be removed or, if they cannot be removed, that the landing area be raised. There must be appropriately 'clear' approach and departure paths .. and a host of other regulations which although largely generic are nonetheless specific to each aviation authority.

Town planning (in urban areas) is required. Structural integrity testing (or materials which meet this) in the case of 'raised' pads etc. etc.

Aside from the above .. your location is another important variable. Building materials and labour costs are different in Sydney than they are in Hanoi for example!

If this is not a study project and there is a 'real' requirement then the only sensible solution is to hire a qualified consultant - one who has done the job before (preferably many times) and who has a string of satisfied clients who can vouch for their work.

There is a member of our community under the username JimL (http://www.pprune.org/members/70860-jiml) who specialises in helicopter landing areas - so you might try sending him a PM - he may also have some indicative costs relating to past projects.

[FairWeatherFlyer]

If the country you are thinking of has a Freedom of Information Act or a culture of openness you may be able to use that to find out about some of the detail of public projects. Not something I thought about until I read about this:

Cambridge News | Latest News Headlines From Cambridge City & Cambridgeshire | National News By Cambridge News | Hospital spent £53,000 on helipad plan that won't fly (http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Hospital-spent-53000-on-helipad-plan-that-wont-fly-16032012.htm)

[upsangel]

Savoia: Thx again! I should have no problem to estimate the civil construction cost according to the site conditions, the hanger part should be ok too, the headache is the avionics part (I am not a pilot nor controller lol)

I only can grasp pieces of information from internet, mainly on:
VHF transceiver + antenna,
CMU(communication management unit, for up/down datalink, not sure I need it or not)

for building service:
fire suppression
lighting and light control

Any essential component I missed out?

BTW if the propose new heliport is extension from the existing airport, so the radar and navigation things could be shared with the airport (to save cost), am I right?

[upsangel]

Dear FairWeatherFlyer: I have collected 20nos of news like this, helps a lot to get the initial idea whether it should be billion/million or k scale.