Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, to get India’s first and only LED-powered runway with ADB SAFEGATE lights

PRESS RELEASE. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) is India’s third busiest airport and serves Bangalore – India’s Silicon Valley – as well as neighboring areas. The Airport’s second runway, scheduled to be operational by late 2019, will be powered by ADB SAFEGATE’s SafeLED airfield lighting (AGL), making it India’s first and only such runway. 

Airport seeks improved airside safety and efficiency; and greater energy and cost gains

The SafeLED AGL range offers the advantages of lower maintenance and power costs, while ensuring higher levels of safety, availability and efficient operations.

“As the BLR Airport gears up to support 55 Air Traffic Movements per hour on its second runway, ensuring safe and efficient operations will remain paramount,“ said Mr. Tom Shimmin, Chief Project Officer, Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the operator of the BLR Airport.

“With our focus on safety and efficiency of flight operation, there is no room for error. We believe that ADB SAFEGATE’s LED airfield lights will bring us the advantages of performance, cost and energy gains, ease of operation and maintenance, and overall safety and efficiency,” Mr. Shimmin added.

ADB SAFEGATE is responsible for the design and supply of the AGL as well as Advanced Visual Docking Guidance Systems (A-VDGS). The company will provide its SafeLED lights, constant current regulators (CCRs) for power management, cables, lighting and control systems such as the ALCMS and ILCMS. The company’s Safedock T1 and T2 variants of A-VDGS will be integrated with the airport’s existing apron management system for improved performance at the gate.

The construction of the second runway was awarded to M/S L&T, as the main contractor, on an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis. ADB SAFEGATE is working with its local partner, AMA Pvt. Ltd., as well as the main contractor, to deliver the project to be completed in four phases with an expected timeline of more than two and a half years.

“From a little over nine million passengers since its first year of operation in 2008, to a forecast of 32 million-plus passengers in 2018, Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has come a long way,” said Christian Onselaere, CEO, ADB SAFEGATE. “We’ve partnered with BIAL since the early days, and we are look forward to supporting them in their next phase of growth.”

The new runway will have an advanced CAT-III (B) instrument landing system that can cater to all types of aircraft including Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8, and is expected to be operational from October 2019.

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The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) is the first Greenfield airport in India to be built as a public-private partnership. It is operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), where private promoters hold 74 percent (Fairfax: 54 percent and Siemens Projects Ventures: 20 percent) stake in BIAL, while the Government holds the remaining 26 percent (Karnataka State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited: 13 percent, Airports Authority of India: 13 percent). The Airport began operations in May 2008 and has significantly enhanced the regional and worldwide air connectivity of Bengaluru and Karnataka. It is currently the busiest airport in South India and the third largest in the Country – having served 26.91 million passengers in FY2017-18. BLR Airport has been ranked the world’s second fastest growing airport by RoutesOnline. Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has been adjudged the ‘Best Regional Airport in India & Central Asia’ by Skytrax in 2018.

ADB SAFEGATE is a leading provider of solutions that boost efficiency, improve safety and environmental sustainability, and reduce operational costs for airports and airlines worldwide. Its solutions tackle every aspect from approach to departure – airport traffic handling, airfield lighting, tower-based traffic control systems, gate and docking automation, services and advanced analytics – to increase airport performance. ADB SAFEGATE has more than 1,000 employees in more than 20 countries and operates in more than 175 countries, serving more than 2,500 airports.