Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport : Features of India’s First Private Operational Greenfield Airport

Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport: Features of India’s First Private Operational Greenfield Airport

Question - West Bengal government is making progressive moves for good governance. Discuss the features of the first operational private greenfield airport of India which is being constructed in West Bengal namely the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport.

• The Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport is opening at Andal near Durgapur

• The airport is located at BAPL Sujalaam Skycity/Aerotropolis

• This will be the first operational private greenfield airport in the nation with AAI completing the calibration/Test flight process

• AAI has used Beechcraft 350 aircraft with precision oriented equipment on board for conducting the calibration

• It has also set up important equipment such as MET Equipment, DVOR, PAPI and VHF

• The greenfield airport is 650 acres in size

• It is the centrepiece of the Sky City Aerotropolis

• The construction of the Sky City at Durgapur is pegged at INR 10,000 crore

• Airport has been developed by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects Ltd/BAPL and Singapore’s Changi Airports International

• That airport can handle Boeing 737-800 or Airbus 320 type aircraft

• Pinnacle Air, a non scheduled airline will be the first to commence operations from this airport

• To incentivise development, West Bengal government has performed waiver of 100% sales tax on ATF/Aviation Turbine feel at the airport

• This will reduce airline operating costs by as much as 10 to 12% and encourage carriers to connect West Bengal to other states and countries

• Aerotropolis is an economic hub extending from the airport into surrounding areas consisting of:

- Distribution and logistics centres
- Office Buildings
- Light Manufacturing Firms
- Convention Centres
- Service Industries
- Related Social infrastructure
- Total project area is around 2,000 acres of land

• Apart from 650 acres for the airport, rest will be used for:
- Industrial facilities
- Institutional and social infrastructure for rehab and common areas

Facts and Stats

• Runway length of airport: 2800 metres/45 metres extendable (up to 3315 metres)

• Taxiway: 252.5 metres * 18 metres

• Area: 4 parking bays for code 4C aircrafts

• Airport is designed to cater to 1 million passengers annually which can rise to 3 million per annum

The industrial Sky City will generate around 83000 jobs: BAPL estimate