India's tallest ATC tower to be functional by mid-2014

The structure will be 40 per cent taller than the Qutub Minar

Delhi is all set to have one of the tallest Air Traffic Control towers in the world which would improve air operations at the Indira Gandhi International aiport by maximising the utilisation of the three runways and achieve much higher air traffic movement per hour.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Wednesday laid the foundation stone of the new 102-metre tall Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower that would be built adjacent to the present ATC tower. It will become fully functional by mid-2014. The new ATC will be the seventh tallest ATC towers in the world. The structure would be 40 per cent taller than the Qutub Minar.

“This tower will give the controllers a commanding view of the entire airport, as well as a much larger working space so that a larger number of controllers can operate and reduce the pressure on every controller. I am sure that the city of Delhi will be adding this tower to its list of landmarks pretty soon,” Singh said on the occasion.

The new ATC tower will have 21 controller positions with a 360 degree view at the visual control room and 12 ground controller positions at operational level.

G M Rao, Group Chairman of GMR said, “The new ATC tower will take this airport to a much higher level of efficiency. The exemplary skills of the ATC operators can be fully leveraged, the utilisation of the three runways can be maximised and we can achieve much higher air traffic movement per hour, from the current level of 65.”

Rao added that in order to increase the comfort of occupants and reduce building sway, the Tuned Mass Damper (TMD) technology would used in the tower.

The tower has been designed up by HOK International Ltd which has made extensive use of National Airport Transport System’s (NATS) expertise through a subsidiary firm called Aviation Solution. Others who were present include, DGCA E K Bharat Bhushan, V P Agrawal, Chairman AAI, Srinivas Bommidala, GMR Business Chairman, Airports, and DIAL CEO I Prabhakara Rao.