Delhi Airport’s Eastern Cross Taxiway to be ready by December 2022, to help reduce CO2 emission by 55,000 tonnes annually

New Delhi: India’s first-ever elevated Cross Taxiway at Delhi Airport is scheduled to be ready by December 2022.

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has completed about 60 per cent of the work on ECT. Once commissioned, the 2.1 km-long dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) will not only help decongest the airport and improve circulation paths of aircraft, but also reduce approximately 55,000 tonnes of CO2 emission annually, said the company.

The 2.1 km-long dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT) will also help in enhancing passengers’ experience, as they will have to remain inside a plane for a much shorter duration after landing or during take-off.

At present, after landing at RWY 29/11 or to take-off from this runway, an aircraft has to cover a distance of about 9 KM. During this period, passengers have to remain inside the plane. After commissioning of the ECT, the aircraft taxiing distance will significantly go down (to just 2 KM) as it will taxi along the taxiway parallel to RWY 11/29 and use the ECT to take a straight path to Terminal 1 or vice-versa.

The ECT will also help airlines to save approximately 350 kg of fuel every time an aircraft uses the taxiing route provided by the ECT from RWY 29/11 to Terminal 1 and vice-versa. This would translate in reduction of nearly 1,114 kg of CO2 emissions for each aircraft taxiing along this route. Annually, the ECT is estimated to reduce emission of approximately 55,000 tonnes of CO2 from aircraft.

In March 2021, DIAL started mounting of girders of ECT across the pillars in the median of Central Spine Road. A total of 590 girders would be mounted. By the second week of July, over 200 girders have already been mounted.

DIAL has ensured that an environment-friendly approach is followed in the construction of ECT. It is using fly ash, a waste product of coal-fired power plants, in the filling material. DIAL is using around 9,715 MT of fly ash in the construction of ECT. If not used, fly ash would have been disposed in specially designed landfills which could lead to leaching of heavy metals into ground water.

Under Phase 3A, DIAL is also constructing 4.4-kilometre-long 4th Runway, parallel to runway 11/29 on the Southern side. Once commissioned the 4th runway would handle the increased traffic movement. Delhi Airport would become the first airport in India to have four operational runways. The 4th Runway also would help reduce Carbon emission significantly.

As part of the expansion project, DIAL is also carrying out integration of the departure and arrival terminals of T1, construction of new T1 Apron, 2.1 km-long dual elevated Eastern Cross Taxiways (ECT), landside developments for circulation and connectivity improvements and T3 modification works.

DIAL is working on the mission of “building a sustainable future”. It includes its highly ambitious plan of becoming “Net Zero Carbon Airport” by 2030. To fulfil its ambition of becoming a net zero carbon emission airport, DIAL has initiated a number of key infrastructure development projects. One of these initiatives is the development of the Eastern Cross Taxiway (ECT).

DIAL has achieved of “Level 4+, Transition” accreditation under Airport Carbon Accreditation program of ACI. Delhi Airport is the first airport in Asia Pacific and only the second airport globally.