Since Growth Begets Growth

GMR Group is all set to begin the $2.5-billion renovation-cumcapacity expansion of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, starting with Terminal 1 

- Ashish Sinha

ONE OF THE country’s busiest and most modern airports, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport that last underwent a massive modernisation exercise from 2006 to 2009 and was expected to be good for the next 30 years, is already notso-modern. The domestic terminal, also known as Terminal 1 D (departure and arrival) is bursting at the seams with the increasing number of passengers and flights, and is grappling to keep up its amenities. Despite a stated capacity of handling 62 million passengers per annum (MPPA), the airport struggled with only around 58 million passengers last year. “The need to expand the Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has arisen because of unprecedented increase in passenger and cargo capacity,” reasons I. Prabhakara Rao, CEO of DIAL.

The environment ministry has already given green clearance to an estimated Rs 16,000-crore expansion project of Delhi airport. The project includes upgrading, development and construction of facilities to achieve airport capacity of about 109 MPPA and 2.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of cargo by 2034. 

The proposed expansion will be carried out in three phases: Phase 3A (from 2016 to 2020), Phase 3B (2021-2025) and Phase 4 (2026- 2034) as per requirements. The cost for the overall infrastructural capacity development, estimated at Rs 16,000 crore, will be applied as per the needs of development programmes, the company said in a pre-feasibility report submitted to the environment ministry for clearance in October 2016. In 2015, with 46 million passengers the IGI Airport took the 25 th spot among the world’s top 30 airports. The IGI airport was also adjudged the second best in terms of growth with 15.67 per cent, only next to Shanghai with 16.27 per cent. In 2015, the airport, with all three terminals, had a combined peak hour demand of 10,115 passengers, which had put it at par with the busiest airports globally.