Ryze business networking

The Airports authority of India announced that RMJM, supported by Sikka Associates, is the winner of the international design competition for the new Domestic Terminal in Kolkata. An independent jury selected the design against a notable list of competitors including Airports de Paris and HOK.
The 40,000m first phase of the new airport is designed to accommodate a peak passenger flow of 1800 per hour, while a second design phase will approximately double those figures.
RMJM worked closely from the outset of the project with the associated landscape designers at STRATA to ensure a fully integrated concept that revolves around an abstract reference to the writing of Rabindranath Tagore of Bengal. The graphic nature of his writing is visible as large scale patterns etched on to the underside of the main roof as well as landscaped across the forecourt ground. A number of mature trees are retained as a striking counterpoint to the linearity of the building's form. In developing the building shape and in the detail design of its skin RMJM ensured that the facility reaches the highest sustainability international standards. Natural day lighting is maximized while keeping cooling systems to a minimum. The form of the roof is also devised to harvest rainwater for landscape irrigation.

"We have drawn up ambitious plans to modernise these two airports. Designs of new terminal buildings and expansion of existing ones have already been approved for both the airports," AAI Chairman K Ramalingam said at a seminar on air route development here. AAI has already appointed consultants for the modernisation project, sources said. The consultant for Kolkata airport modernization is a consortium which Indian firms partnering with Hong Kong's RMJM and a Paris-based firm ADPI.

After modernisation, Kolkata airport's passenger handling capacity will rise from 5.4 million passengers annually to 20 million by 2010. This will be sufficient for handling passengers till 2015-16. Work on nine domestic bays, three cargo bays and 11 additional parking bays has already started along with construction of the new terminal building.
In addition, a new ATC control tower is being built and automation being introduced in air traffic management and navigation. The new terminal building will have an area of around 180,000 sq metres. 104 check-in counters, 44 immigration counters, 25 security gates, five conveyor belts and 15 aerobridges will be the other features of the airport post development.
It will also get an inline baggage system which will make it unnecessary for the passenger to go for pre-check through x-ray machines.

New Kolkata International Airport Pictures We are bringing you a first look at some Kolkata Airport pictures. The Kolkata airport is due for completion in 2010.