Airport expansion plan gets green nod
THE EXPANSION WILL TAKE THE OVERALL CAPACITY OF THE AIRPORT TO 85 MILLION PER ANNUM AS AGAINST THE CURRENT 70 MILLION PER ANNUM
NEW DELHI: The Union environment ministry has cleared the proposal to expand the Delhi airport. As per plan, the Delhi airport operator wants to expand Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 as well as the roads that lead to the airport and construct a new runway, taxiways and approach roads.
The Delhi International Airport Limited ( DIAL) had approached the environment ministry for a green nod since construction work will go on for three to four years.
A DIAL spokesperson said, “The ministry of environment, forest and climate change has accorded environment clearance (EC) for the expansion of the Indira Gandhi International Airport on May 30, 2018. The environment clearance is vital to initiate the expansion project.”
The expansion — which DIAL expects will be complete by 2021 — will take the overall capacity of the airport to 85 million per annum as against the current 70 million per annum. Once work is complete, phase-2 of the expansion — which will include the construction of a brand new terminal — will begin.
In a first, the Delhi airport had, in 2017, breached the 60 millionmark and handled 63.5 million passengers. Hence, it had made it to the list of the top 20 busiest air- ports in the world.
The DIAL spokesperson maintained, “The GMR Group-led DIAL will execute the expansion project to address the infrastructure requirements of the forecasted aviation growth, and it will be implemented in a phased manner. DIAL is committed to comply with the conditions of the environment clearance, and is focused on the adoption of several environment-friendly initiatives during the expansion.”
This year, Delhi airport is expected to breach the 70-million mark and operate beyond its capacity. The new ATC tower, to be opened by December 2018, and the fourth runway, to be opened in 2020, will help reduce air traffic and handle flights.
Since Terminal 1 is operating beyond its capacity; the expansion will begin from there and cover the airside, terminal building and city side, officials said.
“Terminal 1 (T1) of IGI airport handles the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) domestic traffic of the airport. These carriers have regis- tered a phenomenal growth over the last few years — calling for an expansion of the terminal. Since Terminal 1 is operating well beyond its capacity, the expansion will begin from there and cover the airside, terminal building and city side,” said the DIAL official.
As per the proposal, the departure terminal, T1D, and the arrival terminal, T1 C, will be merged and expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers per annum.
As per the Master Plan, the capacity of T1 would be increased from 20 million to 40 million and the capacity of Terminal 3 will be increased from 34 million to 45 million.