Delhi's IGI airport expansion plan gets approved by Environment Ministry
Delhi airport officials can finally start the expansion work, after getting the much-needed permission from Union Environment Ministry. Since the construction will go on for close to four years, they had approached the ministry, said officials of DIAL, the airport's operator. As per plan, terminals 1 and 3 will be expanded, along with the roads leading to the airport, runways, taxiways and approach roads.
The expansion will be done in two phases
In the two-phased expansion, terminals 1D and 1C will be merged and expanded, which would be able to accommodate 40 million passengers annually. Expansion of Terminal 3 would also increase its capacity from 34 million to 45 million. Phase-2 will include building a new terminal, along with constructing roads. DIAL had received the environment clearance from the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, on May 31.
DIAL officials assure environment-friendly steps to be followed
"The GMR Group-led DIAL will execute the expansion project to address the infrastructure requirements of the forecasted aviation growth, and it'll be implemented in a phased manner. DIAL is focused on the adoption of several environment-friendly initiatives during the expansion," said a DIAL spokesperson.
Terminal 1 expansion needed: Huge spike in passenger traffic
Terminal 1 needed expansion, as it handles the traffic of low cost carriers, like IndiGo, GoAir, which itself has seen phenomenal growth in recent times, said an official. A new ATC tower by December this year and a fourth runway by 2020 will help reduce air traffic and control flights, he added. Delhi airport, currently handling 63.5 million passengers, is one of world's busiest airports.
