The new airport, once completed, will be able to provide much needed infrastructure to handle large aircraft, and international traffic. The airport is expected to be one of the best in this region and will house world-class facilities. The airport is being developed to cater to a total of 12 million passengers a year and will in the final stage be able to cater to 80 million passengers a year. The total cost of the project is Rs 2,330 crore. The airport will be built on an area of 5,400 acres and will have the longest runway among Indian airports and will be able to handle the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380. The work on the flyover linking Mehdipatnam to the Shamshabad Airport has started, and it is expected to be one of the biggest projects undertaken by Hyderabad Urban Development Association, also known widely as HUDA.There was some controversy regarding the naming of the airport, as Begumpet's 2 terminals are named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Prime Minister of India, and Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (also known as NTR), an actor turned politician. However, the Government of India decided to name the airport after only Rajiv Gandhi in 2005, who was the leader of same Indian National Congress which is in power right now .
Hyderabad International Airport will be Asia’s biggest International Airport. This International Airport will also serve as an International Aviation Hub for the international air traffic of U.S, Europe and Far-East. It will operate from April 2008 onwards.
State-of-Art Facilities
The promoters of the new airport, being undertaken by a consortium that includes the GMR Group, Malaysia Airports which manages and operates 38 commercial airports in Malaysia, the Andhra Pradesh Government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI), are promising a world-class experience right from the minute you reach the new airport.
The terminal building is being planned in a modular fashion to provide easy transit within the building between the domestic and international terminals. Besides, there will be 60 check-in counters with Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) and eight self check-in kiosks. Eighteen immigration counters have also been planned as have extensive retail and shopping outlets. There will also be barrier-free access for the disabled and elderly. At a later stage, the promoters are also looking at providing facilities for city check-in.
The new airport will be Code F-ready, which means that it will be able to handle the Airbus A-380, likely to be largest aircraft operating globally. The double-decker aircraft that can seat 550 passengers is due to enter service later this year. A number of international airlines including Singapore Airlines and Emirates operate flights to Hyderabad. However, the airlines have not yet said whether they will operate the A-380 on the India route. To facilitate a smooth flow of passengers and aircraft, the airport will have 30 aircraft parking stands and 10 passenger boarding bridges.
Cargo Terminal
Although the opening of the airport is still some time away, the promoters have already awarded a contract to Menzies Aviation Plc of UK for building, on a Build, Operate & Own basis, a cargo warehouse in the new airport. The proposed cargo terminal, to be built on a plot of 3.5 acres, will be equipped to handle 100,000 tonnes of cargo.
The air and land side work that includes construction of the runway, taxiways and apron as also the airfield ground lighting system, fire station and equipment, is being handled by Larsen and Tourbo, while work on the passenger terminal building is being undertaken by China State Engineering Construction of Hong Kong, which has built the Hong Kong international airport and the theme park Hong Kong Disney.
