India’s first-ever elevated cross taxiway at the Delhi International Airport is scheduled to be ready by December 2022.
The Delhi International Airport (DIAL) has completed around 60 percent of the work on the taxiway. Once commissioned, the 2.1 km long dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) will not only help decongest the airport and improve circulation paths of aircraft, but also reduce around 55,000 tonne of CO2 emission annually.
It has implemented Airport-Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) for airport operations and all runways operation to minimise the aircraft delay and associated emissions.
The taxiway will also help in enhancing passengers’ experience, as they will have to remain inside a plane for a much shorter duration after landing or during take-off. The distance that an aircraft has to cover after landing will reduce to two km from nine km.
The ECT will also help airlines to save approximately 350 kg of fuel every time an aircraft uses the taxing route provided by the ECT from RWY 29/11 to Terminal-1 and vice-versa. Annually, the ECT is estimated to reduce emission of around 55,000 tonne of CO2 from aircraft.
In March 2021, DIAL started mounting of girders of ECT across the pillars in the median of Central Spine Road. A total of 590 girders would be mounted. It is using around 9,715 tonne of fly ash in the construction of ECT.
Under Phase-3A, DIAL is also constructing 4.4 km long fourth runway, parallel to the runway 11/29 on the Southern side. Once commissioned the fourth runway would handle the increased traffic movement.
Delhi Airport will become the first airport in India to have four operational runways.
As part of the expansion project, DIAL is also carrying out integration of the departure and arrival terminals of T1, construction of new T1 Apron, 2.1 km long dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT), landside developments for circulation and connectivity improvements and T3 modification works.