June 6, 2020 [CLH Group] – The renovation of the facilities will allow the Group to provide a better service to the various operators at Zaragoza Airport and maximise efficiency. Following the expansion works, the facilities will have three new storage tanks, bringing total capacity to 1,560 cubic metres, and a direct pipeline connection for fuel supply.

The CLH Group will invest more than five million euros to expand the storage capacity at Zaragoza Airport and build a pipeline connecting the facilities to the company’s pipeline network.

Zaragoza Airport is one of Spain’s largest cargo airports and a hub for large, long-haul aircraft. Moreover, due to the exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become the main airport in Spain for the receipt of medical supplies and aid during the crisis.

In 2019, CLH Aviación supplied more than 114,000 cubic metres of fuel to the different operators at Zaragoza Airport. The renovation of the facilities will allow the Group to improve the service while maximising efficiency and meeting increased demand over the coming years with greater flexibility, given that the investment will increase aviation fuel storage capacity, and the connection with the company’s pipeline network will enhance the safety of supply.

The project will involve the upgrading of the current facilities with the construction of three new aviation kerosene (JET-A1) storage tanks in one retention bund. Following the expansion works, the facilities will have a total capacity of 1,560 cubic metres.

In addition, there are plans to construct a new road tanker unloading area for the receipt of external products, four automated road tanker loading racks (three for JET A-1 and one for AVGAS), a new parking area with a capacity for ten into-plane fuelling vehicles and equipment and new roads.

The facilities will also have a multipurpose building with dedicated rooms for fire protection systems, electrical equipment, a control room from which to manage and supervise all the plant’s equipment and systems, and changing rooms.

The facilities will also be fitted out with state-of-the-art safety and environmental protection systems, including: a fire protection system with a water tank and pumps, pipe systems and motorised valves for maximum automation, a new hydrocarbon water treatment unit and new purge systems for both product certification and quality control.

After the CLH Group completes the project, the fuel terminal at Zaragoza Airport will be connected to La Muela – Zaragoza oil pipeline by a 400-metre, six-inch-diameter connecting branch that will improve fuel supply to the facilities, as fuel will be received directly via this route.

To achieve this, in addition to the connecting branch, a reception, pressure control and filtration area will also be built on the plant site, as well as ancillary piping installations, pumping stations, sectioning valves, cathodic protection stations and systems, communication systems and pipeline route markers.

The renovation project took into account the most exacting standards laid down in regulations governing the handling and storage of aviation fuels, in addition to those of the main international bodies that monitor compliance with the strictest recommendations in relation to aviation product control, such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Joint International Guidelines (JIG), of which CLH Aviación is a member.

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