GMR Hyderabad International Airport India

About this project

NACO is proud to have supported GMR Hyderabad International Airport in India, by preparing the airport for the present and future needs of its cargo capacity through an air cargo master plan.

Hyderabad Airport is rated as one of the best airports in the world and has set benchmarks in operations, service quality and passenger experience. It has been consistently rated among the best airports, having been ranked as a Global Top 3 airport in the 5 – 15 million passenger per annum category for nine consecutive years by Airport Council International (ACI).

Since the airport opened in 2008, the cargo volumes passing through have grown at a steady pace which is set to reach 110,000 tonnes in ten years’ time. To ensure the airport can continue to accommodate not just this demands, and also increase capacity up to the 810,000 tonnes of cargo expected in the next 20 years, the airport identified the need for an air cargo master plan.

Overcoming tricky terrain

GMR Hyderabad International Airport approached NACO to complete this work. The masterplan was required to safeguard the airport’s future by providing the flexibility to cater to any airport development in an ever-volatile cargo sector.

Part of the challenge was the significant differences in terrain height across the site – which at some points reaches up to 15 metres. NACO carried out detailed analysis of the ongoing cargo-handling operations and market – in and around Hyderabad, with a particular focus on pharmaceutical and perishable cargo. Additionally, a traffic forecast incorporating three different scenarios and development alternatives were created to accompany the masterplan itself.

Preparing an airport for cargo, today and into the future

As a result of this work, we prepared and presented two master plan alternatives presented to GMR Hyderabad, both of which allowed for maximum flexibility to develop airside infrastructure in several ways. Within these documents, special attention was paid to cargo facilities, including special cargo storage facilities and express freight integrator possibilities.

All of these resulted in a plan that provided GMR Hyderabad International Airport with the means to understand their infrastructure and see multiple routes to future growth and development. Finally, a phasing strategy and capital investment program were created to enable the airport to make informed decisions, financially anticipate future expansions and avoid overinvestment.