Bengaluru: After a two-month delay, the second runway at the Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA) will commence their operations from Thursday this week.
This runway is part of the Rs 13,000 crore airport expansion project undertaken by the KIA. The project will also see the construction of a new terminal building, that would be ready by 2021.
This new runway measures 4000 metres in length and 45 metres in width. It will initially be operated as per CAT I specifications. It is expected that once operations stabilize on this runway, it will then be upgraded to CAT III specifications.
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CAT specifications deal with varying degrees of visibility. CAT III specifications indicate the ability of an aircraft to operate even in extreme fog conditions, changing weather patterns and low visibility.
The existing runway will be upgraded in three months, once the operations on the new southern runway stabilizes. It is expected to be powered by LED lightings making it India’s first and only runway to have this feature.
Independent mixed mode operations, which permit flights to take off and land from either runaways will be permitted once the infrastructure is in place in the next few months.
Infrastructural issues often plague airports across the country as the civil aviation market grows in volume. This expansion project is part of the solution to deal with issues emanating from growth.