RGIA to have 4 new rapid exit runways, tunnel

Expansion project to ensure augmentation of both terminal and airside areas

Hyderabad International Airport, which has been undergoing a massive infrastructure revamp in the last couple of years to enhance the passenger handling capacity from the current 21 million per annum to 37 million, is building four new rapid exit taxiways and a tunnel for improving overall efficiency.

This is apart from the expansion of the existing domestic and international terminals. Initially designed to cater to 12 million passengers per annum, the GMR Hyderabad International Airport or the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport’s (RGIA) major expansion programme was taken up considering the rising demand in traffic, development of new routes and growth in air traffic.

An official spokesperson informed on Thursday that the airport has been recording a 20% growth from 2015-2019 and the expansion project will ensure the augmentation of both terminal and airside areas. Airside infrastructure is being improved to accommodate 93 aircraft stands, including 44 connecting the aircraft to the terminal, also known as ‘contact’ stands, and 49 ‘remote’ stands where the aircraft parking stand is connected to the passenger terminal.

‘Western Apron’ catering to international operations will be expanded by 57,500 sq. mts to accommodate additional 17 contact stands and one remote stand. ‘Eastern Apron’ catering to domestic operations will be expanded by 25,500 sq. mts to accommodate additional 17 contact stands and one remote stand.

A ‘Remote Apron’ on the far eastern side has already been developed to 126,200 sq. mts to accommodate 42 additional remote stands. The new tunnel under construction is to minimise the time loss during the criss-cross movement of Ground Service Equipment (GSE) vehicles and aircraft, informed the spokesperson.

The four new rapid exit taxiways are to enhance runway capacity and designed to allow aircraft to taxi off the runaway at relatively shorter distances, thereby reducing the runway occupancy time. A new parallel taxiway has also been built for effective operation during secondary runway utilisation.

Technology solutions like Category II Airfield Ground Lighting system with LEDs, Advanced Airfield Lighting Control, and monitoring system (ALCMS) and Individual Lamp Control and Monitoring Systems (ILCMS) have been implemented for quick turnaround of aircraft with reduced “ON” duration of aircraft engine. “This mechanism reduces the carbon footprint making RGIA an environment friendly one,” said the spokesperson.

Besides, a 16 lakh sq. mts paved area in the airside was built to helps with a huge run-off of storm water during monsoon. The storm water drainage system has been designed to collect the rain water into a 450 million litres a day capacity reservoir. This water is treated and reused for domestic and irrigation purposes reducing the the dependency on supply from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), she added.