Rajkot Greenfield International Airport is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

and a

greenfield airport A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities (using previously undeveloped or empty greenfield land, for example) and commissioning, planning and cons ...

under construction at Hirasar,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, which will serve the city of

Rajkot Rajkot () is the fourth-largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, and is in the centre of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. Rajkot is the 35th-largest metropolitan area in India, with a population of ...

and the Saurashtra region. It is being constructed near the National Highway 8B (NH-8B) connecting

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and

. It will have a single runway for the operation of ‘C’ category aircraft. The airport is being developed by the

Airports Authority of India The Airports Authority of India, or AAI, is a public sector enterprise under the ownership of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India. It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastruct ...

(AAI) at a cost of .

History

The site clearance approval for the airport was granted by the Government of India in May 2017. Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

presided over the groundbreaking ceremony held on 7 October 2017. The Union ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEF) accorded environmental clearance (EC) to the project on 10 October 2017. Land acquisition issues delayed the tendering process by a few months. Afcons
Dilip Buildcon
Gayatri Projects,

Larsen & Toubro Larsen & Toubro Ltd, commonly known as L&T, is an Indian multinational conglomerate company, with business interests in engineering, construction, manufacturing, technology, information technology and financial services, headquartered in Mumba ...

and

Reliance Infrastructure Reliance Infrastructure Limited (R-Infra), formerly Reliance Energy Limited (REL) and Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES), is an Indian private sector enterprise involved in power generation, infrastructure, construction and defence. It is p ...

were among the bidders for the

Engineering, procurement, and construction Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts (a type of turnkey contract) are a form of contract used to undertake construction works by the private sector on large-scale and complex infrastructure projects. Overview Under an EPC co ...

(EPC) tender floated by AAI. The financial bids were opened on 9 August 2018 and Dilip Buildcon emerged as the lowest bidder. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the project on 28 February 2019. Subsequently, in March 2019, Reliance Infrastructure was awarded the EPC contract worth to construct the airport. The construction is to be completed within 30 months. The contract also requires the contractor to provide operation and maintenance services for a period of two years following the commissioning of the project. The Central Government had initially sanctioned for the project, but revised the amount in June 2019 to .

Infrastructure

The airport will be capable of handling

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

and

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet. The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...

type of wide body aircraft, and will have a

rainwater harvesting Rainwater harvesting (RWH) is the collection and storage of rain, rather than allowing it to run off. Rainwater is collected from a roof-like surface and redirected to a tank, cistern, deep pit (well, shaft, or borehole), aquifer, or a reservoir w ...

system, solar power system and a green belt along its periphery to act as a noise barrier. It will have a built-up area of 23,000 sq.m. and will have an

Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

(ATC) tower, four

aerobridges A jet bridge (also termed jetway, jetwalk, airgate, gangway, aerobridge/airbridge, skybridge, finger, airtube, expedited suspended passenger entry system (E-SPES), or its official industry name passenger boarding bridge (PBB)) is an enclosed, m ...

, an apron suitable for parking of 14 aircraft, three conveyor belts, 20 check-in counters, advanced firefighting systems along with modern and efficient passenger facilities. It will be capable of serving over 1,800 passengers during peak hours. The facade design of the terminal is based on the Ranjit Vilas Palace and various traditional art forms like Dandiya dance, a renowned dance form of Gujarat. The airport, measuring , will be situated 36 km from the existing

Rajkot Airport Rajkot Airport is a public airport located at Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Rajkot Airport is the 4th busiest airport in Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat and Vadodara. Airlines and destinations Modernisation plans Rajkot Urban Development Author ...

, whose capacity is constrained and cannot be expanded because of commercial development around it.

References

{{Airports in India Airports in Gujarat International airports in India Proposed airports in Gujarat Buildings and structures in Rajkot Transport in Rajkot