India’s first elevated cross taxiway, which is being constructed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, is scheduled to be ready by December 2022 with 60% of the work already complete, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said on Wednesday.
Once completed, it will cut 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emission annually and minimise aircraft delay.
Passengers will be able to reach the terminal faster after landing, as the elevated eastern cross taxiway is set to reduce the distance that an aircraft has to taxi from 9 km to 2 km, it said in a statement.
“Environment has emerged as a major focus area in the aviation sector. We have implemented Airport-Collaborative Decision Making for airport operations and all runway operations to minimise aircraft delay and associated emissions. We have ensured that all airside vehicles run on CNG to reduce carbon emission,” said I. Prabhakar Rao, Deputy Managing Director, GMR Group, that operates the Delhi airport.
140 million passengers
He added that the ECT, an integral part of Delhi Airport’s Phase 3A expansion project, would make the airport future-ready and completion of this project, the airport would be able to handle 140 million passengers per annum (MPPA).
The statement added that as part of the airport expansion project, Delhi Airport is carrying out integration of the departure and arrival terminals of T1, construction of new T1 apron, 2.1 km-long dual elevated ECT and T3 modification works. DIAL is also constructing 4.4-kilometre-long fourth runway, parallel to runway 11/29 on the southern side. Once commissioned the 4th runway would handle the increased traffic movement. Delhi Airport would become the first airport in India to have four operational runways.
