NewDelhi: Come November and IGI Airport would enter its second phase of major development that would see Terminal 1 doubling its passenger capacity and a brand new Terminal 4. The access road to T3 would be widened and have elevated taxiways. That means you would drive to and from this terminal with aircraft taxiing above you, just like Singapore's Changi airport.
Also, India's busiest airport would get a fourth runway and would be linked by three different Delhi Metro lines. Delhi International Airport Pvt Ltd (DIAL) on Tuesday made public IGIA's revised master plan that would be implemented when the three low-cost carriers— IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir — shift one- third of their flights to T2 by October-end, creating space to begin expansion work at T1.
DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao said the airport would see a three- phase development in the next decade that would see IGIA reach its peak capacity of handling over 11 crore passengers annually. Its four runways would see 110 aircrafts move every hour.
DIAL, however, did not disclose the cost of the mega plans and how the same would be funded. Flyers pay user development fees to partially fund capital expenditure. Phased expansion plan Phase 3A from 2017 to 2020-21: "T1 has a capacity of handling 2 crore passengers annually but handled 2.4 crore flyers in the last fiscal. This figure is expected to touch 2.6 crores this fiscal. As soon as we move one-third traffic out of T1 to T2 by October-end, we will begin expansion work here that will see T1's passenger handling capacity double to 4 crores," Rao said. T1 would get 22 aerobridges apart from 15 boarding gates from where flyers would take buses to planes. A multi-level car park is also planned. Terminal 3 will also be expanded.
The fourth runway would be completed and two elevated taxiways built to connect all the four runways. The access road to T2-T3 would be widened and pass under the elevated taxiways. DIAL has got security clearance to build these elevated taxiways.
"Centaur will be demolished in 2019 to make way for a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility," the CEO said. Phase 3B from 2021 to 2025: "Once T1 expansion is complete, all low-cost carriers will operate fully from here by moving their flights back from T2. Then T2 will be demolished and a brand new T4 will be built in its place," Rao said. T3 and T4 would be connected and passengers would be able to walk from one terminal to another. By this time, Terminals 1 and 3 would reach their peak passenger handling capacity with 4 crore people flying in and out of T1 and 4.5 crore from T3. T4 would begin operations with an annual capacity of 1.7 crore passengers.
An 'air train' or automated people mover would connect T1, T3 and T4, and Aerocity. Aircraft parking stands would be added. Beyond 2025: T4 would see its capacity rise to 2.4 crore passengers and IGIA would reach its peak capacity of about 11 crore flyers annually. DIAL has dropped the plan to straighten the smallest runway (27-09) and make it parallel to the other three. "We are finalising the cost of implementing these plans and will submit the same to the Airport Economic Regulatory Authority," Rao said.
The government has been trying to ensure that the Greater Noida airport becomes operational by the time IGIA peaks as any future growth in traffic would have to be handled by other airports. The changing trends of Indian aviation led DIAL to amend its Master Plan-2016 significantly over what it had originally envisaged a decade ago. The airport operator listed trends like the rise of low-cost carriers and cargo being carried more in bellies of aircraft instead of freighter.
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