Thursday, August 30, 2007

India's Greenest Airport-Chennai Airport

India's Greenest Airport

A team of firms won the $300 million project to transform Chennai International by 2010
by Neelam Mathews


The Airports Authority of India has chosen plans by a team of architects including Frederic Schwartz Architects, Hargreaves Associates, Gensler, and New Delhi-based Creative Group to expand the Chennai International Airport's domestic and international terminals. When completed in 2010, the $300 million project will transform Chennai, located in the city formerly known as Madras, into India's greenest airport.

The Kamraj Domestic Terminal, in particular, will showcase sustainable technologies. The 23-year-old building currently measures 139,931 square feet and handles 4.74 million passengers a year. Its revamped design will allow it to accommodate twice as many passengers in a three-story structure 984 feet long, encompassing some 781,460 square feet.

The organization of security and circulation forms the basis of the plan, which centers around two lush, ecologically sustainable gardens measuring nearly an acre apiece. "These gardens are visible throughout the terminal creating a unique dialogue between interior and exterior spaces," says Frederic Schwartz, who together with Creative Group was also recently awarded the commission to design a new terminal at India's Raipur airport, in the country's central region.

A parking garage with a green roof will create what the designers describe as a "green gate" to the terminal. "The folding geometry of the green roof captures and directs rain water during the rain season to the elliptical openings in the roof, creating shimmering ‘rain curtains' as the water falls through the garage to cisterns below. This stored water is later used during the dry season to irrigate the green roof and maximize the site's sustainable resources."

Gurpreet Shah, a Creative Group principal, notes that rain harvesting is mandated by Indian law. But Chennai's decision to go green was largely a voluntary one. Although the country is working to adopt the LEED rating system, the program will not cover airports. "We are conscious about it and will try to incorporate as much [sustainable technology] as we can," Shah says.

Link:http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/aug2007/id20070830_178924.htm?chan=innovation_architecture_top+stories

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

India to be recognized as a global aviation hub

The Government is committed to create a network of world-class airports in the country with a view to establishing India as a global aviation hub.

Measures have been taken
to augment capacity as a result of which additional capacity to handle 601.05 lakh passengers per annum on the domestic sector and 301.80 lakh passengers per annum
on international sector is under construction and is likely to be commissioned within the next two – three years.

This information was given by Praful Patel in a written reply to a question.

The Government has undertaken a number of major projects in pursuance of the above objective; to develop, expand, modernize the airports which include restructuring of
Delhi and Mumbai airport, through Joint Venture Route, for upgradation and modernization, at an estimated cost of Rs89bn and Rs70bn respectively. Modernizing and expansion of Kolkata and Chennai airports by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

For Full article,Please visit the following link



Link:http://www.indiainfoline.com/news/innernews.asp?storyId=43282&lmn=1

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Manapakkam investors left in the lurch

KANCHEEPURAM: A group of investors from Manapakkam, on the outskirts of Chennai, walked away from the District Collectorate with a sense of insecurity writ large on their faces here on Monday.

Talking to reporters, they said that several of them had invested their retirement benefits/ hard earned money in the housing project promoted by a Kilpauk-based real estate promoter during 2003-04.

“Being cautious by nature, we took utmost care in verifying the details presented to us by the promoter and also the veracity of a report that the National Airports Authority of India was looking for space for Chennai Airport Expansion project,” they said.


The investors heaved a sigh of relief at media reports that the NAAI had rejected the land acquisition proposal citing ‘poor’ and ‘weak’ soil conditions in Manapakkam, Gerugembakkam, Tharapakkam and Kolapakkam areas.

Subsequently, the very same promoter launched Phase-II township project in 2006 in same area.

Link:http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/22/stories/2007082260280400.htm

Sunday, August 12, 2007

AAI to invest Rs4000cr in Kol, Chennai a'port rejig

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has started modernisation work on the Kolkata and Chennai airports, K Ramalingam, chairman, AAI, said at a seminar on air route development today.

The development work will include construction of new terminals, additional runways and taxiways in both the airports. The AAI will spend Rs 2000 crore each for upgradation of the airports. The target year for completion of this project is 2010.

"We have drawn up plans to modernise both the airports. Designs of terminal buildings and expansion of existing ones have already been approved," said Ramalingam. He also said that the airport infrastructure at Chennai and Kolkata would be upgraded to make landing of aircraft like the Airbus A-380 possible.

AAI has already appointed consultants for the modernisation project, sources said. The consultant for Kolkata airport modernization is a consortium which Indian firms partnering with Hong Kong's RMJM and a Paris-based firm ADPI, while for Chennai the consultants are Creative Group with Frederic Schwartz and Genslers of the US.

After modernisation, Kolkata airport's passenger handling capacity will rise from 5.4 million passengers annually to 20 million by 2010. This will be sufficient for handling passengers till 2015-16. Work on nine domestic bays, three cargo bays and 11 additional parking bays has already started along with construction of the new terminal building.

In addition, a new ATC control tower is being built and automation being introduced in air traffic management and navigation. The new terminal building will have an area of around 180,000 sq metres. 104 check-in counters, 44 immigration counters, 25 security gates, five conveyor belts and 15 aerobridges will be the other features of the airport post development.

In Chennai, a new terminal building will be constructed and that along with the existing terminal will take passenger capacity from10 million annually to 30 million by 2010. This development work would make the airport adequate passenger handling capacity till 2015-16. The new terminal building will measure more than 140,000 sq mts. In addition to that there will be 140 check-in counters, 60 immigration counters, 7 security gates (3 international, 4 domestic), 4 conveyor belts and 7 aerobridges.

In addition to that, 7 inline baggage systems will be installed in five airports namely Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Srinagar and Calicut. The system makes it unnecessary for the passenger to go for pre-check through x-ray machines. They will directly check in and the baggages screened. This involves an expenditure of Rs 50 crore. The second phase will see these systems installed in 8 other airports viz Amritsar, Guwahati, Varanasi, Trivandrum, Vizag, Trichy, Jaipur and Udaipur.

Speaking at the seminar, Ramalingam said that there would soon be special strictures and guidelines for the airports across the country. Apart from guidelines laid down by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and International Air Transport Association (IATA), there would be other customer service surveys across for all the 42 airports-6 metros and 35 non-metros in the country.

Currently, Airports Council International (ACI), an international airport body is conducting a airport service quality survey at the Delhi airport. The survey is based on 34 criteria like availability of parking facilities, efficiency of staff and finer details like sanitation and cleanliness of toilets.

Speaking about security and efficient air space navigation, Ramalingam said that the satellite based navigation system,GAGAN would be implemented by the beginning of 2010. A large part of the infrastructure is already in place and feasibility trials are being conducted. He also said that more radars were being procured for better air traffic control and within two years the entire airspace would have radar coverage with an efficient network between all the radars. He also said that efforts were being made to provide night landing facilities to airports across the country.

Link:http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=11&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=26448

AAI begins work on Kolkata, Chennai airport upgrade

NEW DELHI: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Friday said it has started work on modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports and will construct new terminals, additional runways and taxiways at a total estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore.

"We have drawn up ambitious plans to modernise these two airports. Designs of new terminal buildings and expansion of existing ones have already been approved for both the airports," AAI Chairman K Ramalingam said at a seminar on air route development here.

He said the estimated cost of modernising the two airports would be Rs 2,000 crore each and the target date is 2010. The plans also include the construction of new runways, parking spaces, taxiways and new airspace management and air traffic control systems.

The process of city-side development of these airports and connectivity was also being discussed, Ramalingam said. He also dwelt on the modernisation of 35 non-metro airports that were being developed simultaneously and the AAI was making efforts to meet the specific target set up for each project.

Special surveys were being conducted to check the standards of services being provided at metro airports, which would later be extended to the non-metro ones. Referring to the congestion in airspace over major airports like those in Delhi and Mumbai, Ramalingam said the development of new routes, besides enhancement of the technological capabilities of airspace management and ATC, was being looked into.

The seminar, organised by AAI and UK-based Route Development Group, would go into a gamut of issues relating to expansion of the air route network in India as well as the region.


Link:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/AAI_starts_work_on_modernisation/articleshow/2271670.cms