Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said on Thursday that the new terminal and the fourth runway of the Delhi airport would become operational in September. Indira Gandhi International Airport will become the only Indian airport with four runways.
He added, “September 2023 will witness the commissioning of a new terminal and fourth runway at Delhi airport. The Indian aviation sector is growing rapidly, and we are preparing for better infrastructure and better connectivity with a renewed focus on innovation.” are doing.”
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The Aviation Secretary made the remarks at the EU-India Aviation Summit that began here on Thursday. According to officials familiar with the development, the fourth runway is expected to be about 4,400 meters long and 75 meters wide. It is slightly shorter than the third runway (known as 29/11).
“The fourth runway is expected to ease the pressure of a possible increase in flight operations. The new runway will significantly reduce the waiting time for flights to land and take off,” said an official. The new runway is part of Phase III-A of the Delhi airport’s expansion plan. The original time frame for the project was mid to late 2022.
DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), a joint venture owned by the GMR group, announced an investment of Rs 9,800 crore in 2019 to upgrade the existing Terminal 1, build a fourth runway and undertake other development works. Capacity now from 66 million to 100 million passengers.
The official said work on the runway was affected due to the coronavirus. The EU-India Aviation Summit will focus on the EU-India air transport relationship and mutually shared challenges and opportunities such as post-COVID air traffic recovery, increasing stability, maintaining safety and the development of unmanned aircraft systems.
The summit will bring together top level policy makers, industry executives and stakeholders from both the EU and India. “There are many fronts on which India and the EU cooperate and this summit marks the beginning of that journey,” he said.