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The construction of a new 35 metre high control tower at Isle of Man Airport has begun, following the cutting of the first sod by Transport Minister David Anderson.
The £6.5 million project was approved by Tynwald in the summer, and the facility is expected to be in use before April 2010.
The tower is being built on a 'green' site close to the one it will be replacing, which dates back to the 1950s.
The DoT says the present tower is struggling to cope because of its age, current health and safety requirements and increased technological demands.
(Picture: Transport Minister David Anderson, in the centre, performs the official sod cutting with, from left to right, DoT chief executive Ian Thompson, Parkinson's site manager Lawrence Bradford and director of project management for Burroughs Stewart Associates Piers Burroughs. Not on picture but at the sod cutting was Parkinson's managing director Malcolm Blackburn).
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