New terminal building at Agartala airport to operate on solar power

Airports Authority of India (AAI) to set up a 2 MW solar power plant for the energy requirement of the new terminal building at Agartala airport.

The newly constructed Maharaja Bir Bikram (MBB) Airport terminal in Agartala, will be operating on solar power which is expected to be operational within the next three months.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has undertaken to set up a 2 MW solar power plant for the energy requirement of the terminal building, as a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s green development initiative.

As per the initial energy assessment of the new terminal, there is an energy requirement of a little over 2 MW/day that would be needed for illumination, cooling, water supply and, other electrical devices, informed the Director of Airport, Rajiv Kapoor. It has been planned to generate this power by non-conventional power sources, he further added.

Kapoor further informed that about 1 MW of the power requirement is estimated for the day and an equal amount of power for the night. Thus the half of the solar energy generated will be supplied to the grid. The airport will operate on grid supply after sunset. If demand exceeds more than 2 MW per day they will pay for the usage to state electricity corporation.

The New Airport:

The new terminal building has been built in 0.03 sq km at MBB Airport of Agartala with all modern facilities at a cost of INR 438 crore. The airport boast of being the second largest airport in the northeast and has 20 check-in counters, four-passenger boarding bridges, a conveyors belt, and other modern facilities and amenities.

The terminal is designed to handle around 1,000 domestic and 200 international passengers per day during peak hours, creating an annual handling capacity of three million passengers.

An apron with a capacity to park six aircraft at a time has also been constructed at the new terminal. The airport’s terminal building will portray local art and heritage through its architecture along with a design display of a sweeping roof profile that covers the entire airport terminal.

The MBB airport will have advance intelligent building management systems to manage energy consumption while being a perfect combination of ecological infrastructures, art, and building technology. Bamboo is used for construction as a widespread local material in the state, while tribal crafts and artwork are used for the promotion of cultural tourism.