EOI invited for expansion of Delhi International Airport

Private airport operator Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) has invited expression of interest for architectural and engineering consultancy for expansion of the six-year-old terminal that is bursting at the seams. The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation had recently hauled up DIAL for chaos and congestion at the terminal that caters mainly to budget carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir. After a visit by the Civil Aviation Secretary late last month, DIAL was directed to follow a time-bound action plan to de-congest the terminal.
According to the expression of interest, the consultancy that DIAL intends to hire would have to provide design and plans of architecture, civil/structural works, pavements, IT services, and airport systems such as baggage handling, boarding bridges, elevators/escalators and airfield lighting among others.
The consultant would have to design an architectural façade on the city side that gels with the present look of the terminal. This would include planning energy-efficient glasses that would allow daylight to come in but keep the heat out. Other services that have to designed include high-class interiors, elevators/escalators, flight information systems, security systems and other IT services.
The design consultant would also have to consider operational requirements so that passengers and aircraft movement is minimally impacted during the execution phase, existing site conditions and all regulatory requirements. DIAL intends to award the design consultancy contract by December 15.
It is DIAL’s intent to award the Design Consultancy contract by 15 December 2015 with the following timelines:
1) Closure of EOI – 15th October 2015
2) Issue of tender for design consultancy – 1 st November 2015
3) Closure of design consultancy bidding and issue of LOI – 15th December15
4) Mobilization of design team – 1 st week of January 2016
5) Issue Request for Proposals (RFP) for construction contract – 1 st July 2016
6) Construction contract award 1st October, 2016

DIAL has come up with a master plan for expanding the terminal so that it is able to handle 30 million passengers per annum, compared to its present capacity of 16 million. As per its de-congestion plan, DIAL intends to add two new wings to the existing terminal, increase floor area by 75,000 square metres and add 10 extra aerobridges.
DIAL also plans to expand the road network on the city side of the terminal, a multi-level car park, surface drainage, utility mapping and relocation. Work on the tarmac side would include revamping about 80 aircraft parking stands and taxiways with associated facilities and CAT III B lighting (which enables pilots to bring the aircraft from runway to parking bays in poor visibility).
With budget carriers increasing their flights and carrying capacity in recent times, the terminal falls woefully short of handling the extra rush. As a result, serpentine queues during the rush hour have become a norm here.
The action plan that the Ministry had directed DIAL to follow includes deploying additional security personnel, utilising all 96 available check-in counters instead 58 counters, starting trials for self-bag drop machines, and increasing boarding gate area from the present 1,787 sq m to 3,574 sq m.