The SEA Group in 2017 continued its commitment to support investments in line with the programmed development plan. The following table details the investments made in 2017 of Euro 84,995 thousand, net of advances to suppliers, with evidence of new investment (Euro 72,140 thousand) and recovery actions (Euro 12,855 thousand). It should be noted that no research and development activities were carried out in 2017.
| (Euro thousands) | New installations | Restoration investments | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flight infrastructure | 9,178 | 3,189 | 12,367 |
| Air terminals | 15,763 | 4,604 | 20,367 |
| Cargo | 5,457 | 180 | 5,637 |
| Misc. buildings, roadways, parking | 18,378 | 1,585 | 19,963 |
| Networks & plant | 5,233 | 3,297 | 8,530 |
| Ecology | 5 | - | 5 |
| ICT Systems / Projects | 10,677 | - | 10,677 |
| Other equipment | 7,449 | - | 7,449 |
| Total investments | 72,140 | 12,855 | 84,995 |
Amounts are inclusive of the 6% remuneration in accordance with IFRIC 12 (Euro 2.3 million) and the share of financial charges (Euro 0.04 million).
Investments made in 2017 include the expansion and restyling operations at Milan Malpensa and Linate, works in the Malpensa cargo area and the construction of the new hangar in Linate for general aviation.
More significant investments in Milan Malpensa were Terminal 1’s functional upgrading and restyling with the construction of new commercial areas, the homogenisation of the existing finishes, and the acquisition of the Sheraton Hotel property which took place in the second half of December.
During the year, works were concluded on the installation of new controlled access for staff passage, the restyling of the Remote North Schengen gates and the reconfiguration of the South Commercial area with the construction of new shops. Fittings for the Lufthansa VIP hall and works for the conversion of the former south Dufry store in the commercial areas were also completed.
The restyling of the Satellite B Arrivals Level was also finished, while the restyling works on the Schengen Baggage Claim area are still in the start-up phase.
As regards Milan Malpensa Terminal 2, the design for the construction of new departure gates concluded, while the design for the construction of a new building in the Departure Terminal’s internal courtyard which will accommodate new shops and restaurants is in progress. This was designed as the routing hub for departure passengers.
Works for the construction of a second warehouse to be used by Cargo operators are underway in the Milan Malpensa Cargo area. The warehouse will consist of an area of about 15,000 sq. m.
For Linate airport, the most significant investment is related to works on the Terminal’s functional upgrading and restyling. The main objectives of operations consist in improving the perceived quality and architectural image of the Air Terminal’s facade, land side access, the arrivals hall, the baggage claim hall and the Leonardo SEA and Welcome Alitalia VIP Lounges. Expansion works are under design for the improvement of operational spaces for the gates and the enlargement of commercial areas (for retail and food & beverage).
At both Malpensa and Linate flight infrastructure plant upgrades continued for the implementation of the ASMGCS (Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System) systems, which will enable a clearer indication of paths to be followed by aircraft during the taxiing of aircraft, in addition to an improved use of lights on the taxiing runways, with a consequent reduction in the time in which lights are switched on, limiting therefore light pollution and resulting in further energy savings.
At Linate, an important project was the North apron area which provides an extension of the aircraft apron by about 22,000 sq. m, making it possible to use three new aprons for contemporary de-icing operations, rationalising the current layout of the area south of the apron and improving the areas available for the parking and movement of aircraft, vehicles and equipment.
Information Technology investment was focused on setting up the Digital Transformation. The commencement of projects and experiments in IOT - Internet of Things with regard to the Passenger Experience, ever-increasing dematerialisation in support of corporate operating and administrative processes, the launch of a multi-year plan for the adoption of BIM - Building Information Modelling methodologies in design and maintenance and the increasing use of Cloud Solutions, are only some examples of the ongoing investment in innovation.
The development of Web environments also continued through important advances in Internet Sites and Mobile Apps, providing new e-commerce features and new mobility services through innovative and modern payment systems.
Great attention was also paid to the resilience and operational continuity of systems, through the now consolidated set-up of a real infrastructural "campus", consisting of three internal Data Centres (one at Linate and two at Malpensa) and two external IBM Data Centres dedicated to Management and Administrative systems (SAP ERP - Enterprise Resource Application in a HANA - High Performance Analytic Appliance environment) and application systems in a virtualised environment. This brings the Milan Airports’ Information Technology in line with the most modern adoptions of the Cloud paradigm combined with virtualisation.
Also highlighted is the attention and commitment given to the priority issue of Cyber Security, through the definition of a Reference Framework which enabled a holistic approach to the issue. This was accompanied by investment and actions targeted to increase protection levels and overall internal awareness on Cyber risk.
Finally, the SEA020 project, which is the result of the experience gained during the EXPO 2015 with the E015 ecosystem, initiated an information management process through ecosystem concepts and API - Application Programming Interface to optimise data management both internally and towards stakeholders.