Construction of the glass cab for London Heathrow's new air traffic control tower has been completed on the south side of the airport, and it is being repositioned to its permanent location, adjacent to Terminal 3 and east of Terminal 5, later this month. Early next year the 30m (98ft) -tall cab, which weighs 862t, will be progressively raised to top out the 87m-high tower complex using a hydraulic jacking system that will allow five 12m-long mast sections to be installed. The structure will be almost twice as tall as Heathrow's existing tower located in the central terminal area. Heathrow airport operator BAA says the new tower is due to become operational "towards the end of 2006", around two years before the new Terminal 5 is scheduled to open.
Source: Flight International
