Civil Aviation Authority has hired the services of M/s Louis Berger Group Inc (LBG) USA for development of Master Plan of New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) and for Project Management consultancy.
The Master Plan developed by LBG provides the parameters and program for the design, construction and phased development of the New Islamabad Airport (NIIA) through the year 2030.
A Traffic Forecast followed by a demand/capacity analysis to define facility requirements to accommodate such demand for the next 30 years has been prepared. The NIIA Master Plan is in accordance with international standards and industry best practices to ensure that the Government's vision for this airport is fully incorporated.
Besides providing the facilities required meeting the forecasted traffic over the next 30 years, the Master Plan has also considered long-term alternatives to best utilise the airport site and to provide the needed flexibility to expand the facilities beyond the initial 30 years of operation.
NEED FOR THE PROJECT A well-developed airport in Islamabad has the potential to become a prominent airport in the Persian Gulf region and South Asia. Today, the Islamabad International Airport serves the region surrounding Islamabad but does not effectively compete with the larger aviation hubs in the region. Because of its smaller local market, but also due to the lack of facilities for increased airline services, even in the domestic market, Islamabad is ranked below the newer and larger airports at Karachi and Lahore in terms of passenger and aircraft movements.
Due to the rapid growth in traffic levels and the lack of space available for expansion of airport facilities, particularly airside facilities, the existing airport has become severely congested. Even if the requirements imposed by the changing fleet mix were addressed within the existing site, the increase in total operations clearly requires an expanded facility (between 2000 and 2005, international operations at the Airport have increased by 40%).
The increase in international commercial operations reflects an increase in travel demand, which requires planning for an expanded facility to adequately serve long term needs and the airlines objectives to increase their scheduled services to the nation's capital.
With short, medium and long range projections for annual passengers forecasted to grow from 2.8 million in 2004 to 3.9,6.2 and 9.3 million annual passengers in 2010, 2020 and 2030 respectively, the immediate need to construct a new international airport is felt.
THE AIRPORT SITE:
The selected site for the new airport is located on 3,200 acres of land which was acquired by CAA in the 1980 s at Pind Ranjha near Fateh Jang; some 20 km from zero-point Islamabad and 23 km from Saddar, Rawalpindi requiring a driving time of only 20-25 minutes through the network of motorways and highways.
Time savings for airlines in terms of enroute time, easier traffic procedures and reduction of delays Improved connectivity to other cities of the region due to proximity of Motorway and GT Road Less environmental pollution (noise impact)
NO DISRUPTION FROM MILITARY AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS/ACTIVITIES
THE MASTER PLAN:
The New Islamabad International Airport (NIIA) will be developed as a Greenfield airport and all major components of an airport facility will be developed as part of this Project. NIIA will be a state-of-the-art airport, with modular facilities for both domestic and international passengers and cargo capacity to accommodate the projected demand through 2030.
The facilities planned include Passenger and Cargo Terminal Buildings, Runways, System, Aprons, Taxiways, Airfield, Lighting System, Air Traffic Control Tower, NAVAIDs, utilities and infrastructure including roads, car parking facilities, power supply systems, storm water drainage, sewage treatment plant, etc.
Once it is inaugurated, NIIA will take over civil aviation needs of the city of Islamabad and its suburbs from the existing airport at Chaklala, which will maintain the military airbase and strategic events.
The construction of the NIIA will be undertaken as a phased development over a 30-year period. Development phases reflect the short-term needs (2010), which is the anticipated period leading to the inauguration of the Airport and includes all the basic facilities that are essential for opening of the Airport, as well as the medium-term (2020) and long-term (2030) planning horizons.
The Airport's ultimate development potential, beyond the 30-year period, is also considered in defining the airport layout plans for the three planning horizons, taking into consideration how to best utilise the available site to serve the long-term aviation needs of the Islamabad Region.
The airport layout includes the development of an optimally-oriented runway. All associated taxiways and apron areas are provided in accordance with runway and facility development throughout the planning phases.
The airport development will provide a new passenger terminal building, airline support services, airport support services, commercial facilities, as well as landside support and utility infrastructure.
The initial (Planning horizon for the Year 2010) Airside System development will consist of ICAO Code 4F runways, 12,000 feet (3,654 meters) in length and 200 feet (60 meters) in width. The runway, which will be oriented east west as Runway 10-28, will have 25 foot (7.5 meter) shoulders. The runway/ taxiways system in the first Phase will provide the airside with an hourly capacity of 35 to 40 operations.
A number of typical Passenger Terminal Building configurations were considered for the Islamabad Airport site based on the requirements of the passenger processing areas and gross floor areas throughout the planning horizons. These configurations took into consideration the location and orientation of major airport infrastructure such as runways, landside approach roads, areas for support ancillary structures and operations, climatic and topographic data, and annual passenger volumes and growth.
The most preferred option derived from the airfield configuration is a linear concept that could evolve during the planning horizons and development phases into a hybrid configuration, thus providing the adequate capacity and the desired growth flexibility in the case of a faster growth scenario in a given planning horizon.
The NIIA Passenger Terminal Building to be inaugurated in 2010 is planned as a 3-level facility with an area of approximately 88,400 m serving an annual combined capacity of 3.9 million national and international passengers.
The proposed terminal layout will allow the terminal to grow well into the future and beyond the forecast period. Enough space has been allocated to allow a terminal building expansion that can still occur beyond the planning period and to allow for a full utilisation of the site. The planned two runways will be operated independently in parallel.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT:
The NIIA is proposed to be developed in a manner that is consistent with the guiding environmental principles as established in laws and other applicable international standards and regulations.
LAND USE PLAN:
The NIIA Master Plan has considered the implications of the proposed airport on surrounding land uses, as well as on land at the airport site which is not essential to be preserved for aviation uses. Areas for future non-aeronautical and commercial development have been identified, as well as areas to be preserved as green spaces. Land Use policies for nearby areas to assure compatibility with the new airport have been proposed and to assure that noise from airport operations does not become a serious concern in the future.
NIIA is a window of opportunity and CAA likes to avail, as it will not serve the adjoining cities, generate jobs but will also give a boost to the non-aeronautical income of CAA which in turn will spin the national economy. NIIA with most modern facilities will attract airlines to commence their operations to the Capital city.
(The writer is Acting Director Works & Development, Civil Aviation Authority.)
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