Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has inaugurated a new international airport in Rajkot, in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
Built on a greenfield site at Hirasar, the new facility – known both as Rajkot International Airport and Hirasar Airport – will replace the existing airport, which had become capacity-constrained, with residential and commercial development of the land around it meaning that expansion was impossible.
While the replacement airport is under construction and to ease the transition between the old and new facilities, an interim terminal has been built. When the new passenger terminal is operational, the interim terminal will be used for cargo.
The new terminal building and the airside infrastructures will cost Rs.1405 Cr (US$170m). The 2,534-acre development also includes the construction of the runway, apron, parallel taxi track, and so forth.
The terminal itself will cover 23,000m2, and will be able to process up to 2,800 passengers per hour. It will feature 20 check-in counters and five conveyor belts.
The runway will be 3,040m long and 45m wide. At 334 x 152m, the apron will be able to accommodate a fleet of ten Code-C type and four Code-B type aircraft simultaneously. The airport will also feature two link taxi tracks and a 300-car parking area.
Environmental elements
The new terminal will be equipped with various sustainability features, among them a double insulated roofing system, canopies for energy saving, LED Lighting, a low-heat-gain double glazing unit, landscaping with fountains, a water treatment plant, a sewage treatment plant and the use of recycled water for landscaping. The building will also feature a solar power plant.
Image: Government of India
