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The GMR Group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd has announced its plans to start the process of Delhi Airport capacity expansion.
The expansion process, as per the IGI Airport Master Plan 2016, will encompass airport airside, terminal and landside.
In May 2016, DIAL had finalised the plan with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, in consultation with all the stakeholders. The expansion is to cater to the future requirements.
The Master Plan will be implemented in three modular phases-phase 3A (2018-21), 3 B (2021-25) and Phase 4 (2026 onwards).
The departure Terminal, T1D and arriving Terminal, T1 C will be merged into one and expanded to accommodate 40 million passengers a year. This includes modification of Apron to meet future aircraft demand equipped with modern facilities like Bridge Mounted Equipment and Visual Docking Guidance System. The modified T1 will also have Aerobridge operations with 22 Aerobridges.
I Prabhakara Rao, CEO, DIAL, in a statement said, “We have planned to increase the capacity of T1 and T3 and build a fourth runway in due course of time. As per the Master Plan, capacity of T1 will be increased from 20 million to 40 million and the capacity of T3 will be increased from 34 million to 45 million. The expansion would enable us to handle the steep rise of the passenger inflow at the airport.”
He further added, “In view of the robust growth in passenger traffic and upcoming airport expansion works, DIAL is recommissioning T2. We have asked the airlines operating from T1 for part shifting of operations to T2 from October. T3 and T2 would cater to the growing traffic in the next three to four years by which time T1 expansion project would be completed.”
DIAL is seeking to transform the Delhi airport as a preferred Hub Airport of Asia.
To minimise the inconvenience to passengers, late last year, DIAL initiated the consultation with airlines for shifting to T2 given the need of reducing the load on T1. The mothballed T2 having a capacity of 14 million passengers per annum was refurbished and made ready for accepting partial load from T1.
The expansion works will be carried out along with the normal operations at T1.
Certain areas of the terminal and city side will operate at a lower capacity of 16 million passengers per annum (MPPA). However, the overall capacity of the airport in view of T2 operationalisation will be maintained at around 70 MPPA.
Besides, a fourth runway will be built parallel to Runway 11/29. The fourth runway will be constructed by 2021. This will ease out future pressure on other runways and will be constructed parallel to runway 11/29.
The Delhi airport is the largest and the busiest in India. It handled 57.7 million passengers and over 8,57,000 tonnes of cargo in 2016-17.
The GMR-led DIAL is a consortium of GMR Group, Airports Authority of India and Fraport with a mandate to develop and manage the airport for 30 years, with an option to extend it by another 30 years.
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