Ahmedabad airport recarpets 3.5 km runway in 75 days, claims record

It is the busiest airport in Gujarat operating more than 200 flights daily before the coronavirus pandemic

The Adani Group-managed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport (SVPIA) at Ahmedabad on Thursday announced completing recarpeting--a work to resurface roads with fresh asphalt--the 3.5-kilometre-long runway in 75 days.

The group said that an asphalt equivalent to 200 km stretch of road was used for re-carpeting along with concrete sufficient to build a 40-storied structure. It said the work was an all-time best for a brownfield runway in India.

The busiest airport in Gujarat with over 200 flights every day before the coronavirus pandemic, SVPIA kept the runway open daily for 160 flights on an average during the remaining 15 hours of the day during the 75 days of re-carpeting work

The challenge of re-carpeting the runway without impacting the operations of scheduled flights was tackled by Adani Airport Holdings Ltd (AAHL) by using only nine hours of notice to airmen (NOTAM) daily, the group stated.

The actual duration of 75 days for recarpeting stands against an earlier planned timeline of 200 working days starting November 10, 2021 which was later reduced to a target of 90 days by Adani Group by increasing resources.

"Subsequently, SVPIA’s project team completed the work in just 75 days. The project entailed the support of one million safe manhours and 600 individuals featuring staff and workmen along with over 200 sophisticated pieces of equipment," the group stated.

The runway recarpeting project was estimated to be completed in two phases, spanning three calendar years, as per industry standards even as AAHL completed the work in 75 days.

In addition to other upgrading works completed at SVPIA, the airport now has a complete airfield lighting system in the runway and connecting taxiways that is equivalent to lighting an entire district of 12 to 14 villages.