Airmen’s children watch as the Patriot Express touches down in front of the temporary passenger terminal at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on May 30, 2023. The regular terminal was significantly damaged by Typhoon Mawar. (Pedro Tenorio/U.S. Air Force)
A Guam-based general contractor has secured a $21.4 million deal to completely overhaul Andersen Air Force Base’s passenger terminal, with work expected to conclude in two years.
The Department of Defense on Aug. 5 awarded the contract to Fargo Pacific Inc., of Tamuning, to demolish and renovate the interior of the approximately 21,400-square-foot space.
Work is expected to be completed by July 26, 2026, according to the DOD contract announcement on Aug. 5.
The terminal — a stopping point for the government-contracted Patriot Express air service that transports U.S. service members and their families — has been under repair for more than a year after the Category 4-equivalent Typhoon Mawar significantly damaged the building in May 2023.
Since then, the terminal has operated out of a temporary space that includes six portable offices that 734th Air Mobility Squadron commander Lt. Col. Michael Sadler has called the “Most Extraordinary Expeditionary Passenger Terminal,” according to an email Tuesday to Stars and Stripes from a squadron spokesperson. The spokesperson did not identify themselves in the email.
The temporary terminal plays a “vital role” for active-duty and retired service members through the Patriot Express and other services like Space-Available and Space-Required travel opportunities, according to the email.
Outbound airmen and their families are transported to a hangar serving as a temporary passenger terminal at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on May 30, 2023. The regular terminal was significantly damaged by Typhoon Mawar. (Pedro Tenorio/U.S. Air Force)
While the repairs and renovations are in response to the Mawar damage, renovations have been in the works since at least 2020 because the base “required more robust facilities to meet the challenges and strategic focus of the Indo-Pacific theater,” the email states.
Designs for the new facility began in September 2020 and were approved in April 2023, a month before the eye of Mawar passed just north of the U.S. territory, bringing heavy rain, flooding and wind gusts up to 167 mph.
The temporary facility was always planned to be a part of the renovations, but storm damage led the 734th to expedite its setup, according to the email.
The renovations are planned to modernize the terminal through an “enhanced ergonomical design” that maximizes the area’s square footage while creating a “more efficient terminal experience,” the email states.
Those changes include an expanded, covered front entrance; ramp access; improved security measures; a larger lobby; and a streamlined service center and passenger check-in. The terminal’s inbound and outbound gates will also be larger, and a third gate will be added to accommodate larger passenger loads.
Overall, the changes are expected to increase the terminal’s capacity from 150 to 280 people, according to the squadron’s email.
