• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad, Nov. 7 When the Rs 2,478-crore Rajiv Gandhi International Airport begins commercial operations in March, it is going to be the greenest airport in the country and one of the few such in the world.

GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), which is developing the airport, is taking the help of CII-Godrej Green Business Centre (CII-GBC) to mould it into a green project.

The GBC, the apex body that is promoting green buildings in the country, would also help the airport to get the coveted LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating from the US Green Business Council (USGBC), the US-based not-for-profit organisation that promotes and rates buildings for their environmental friendliness.

On conforming to the LEED criteria, the project would get the certification after it begins commercial operations next year. The GBC would send relevant documents to the USGBC for consideration. “We are acting as a facilitator and advisor. We advise them on selection of material and equipment that will help the airport save energy and water,” according to Mr S. Raghupathy, Head of CII-GBC.

If it gets the rating, it is going to be the greenest airport in the country. “There are not many airports of the ilk globally,” Mr Raghupathy said.

When asked whether the company needed additional expenditure to turn the airport into a green one, a top executive of GHIAL said it need not. “It is going to help us in saving money on power consumption, particularly in lighting and air-conditioning,” he said.

Incidentally, GHIAL had roped in National Geophysical Research Institute to help it develop rain gardens at the airport area. The idea is to trap and conserve rain water gathered along the 5,400-acre airport area, which otherwise would have gone waste.

Rain gardens would help increase groundwater recharge by at least 30 per cent.

More Stories on : Airlines | Environment | Infrastructure

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Mangalore trade sees potential in air cargo

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line