“3D models and Digital Twin would help us tremendously in extensive planning and designing. If we have a Digital Twin of an airport, we will have everything in place much faster,” says Charul Shukla, Executive Director, Planning, Airports Authority of India (AAI) in a conversation with Geospatial World.
What are the upcoming technology plans of the Airport Authority of India?
By 2035, India will have about 1 billion travelers annually. To handle this traffic and build capable infrastructure, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) is coming up with lots of projects such as traffic forecasts.
To build infrastructure at such an enormous scale, we require huge capital expenditure as well, which is about 91,000 crores, out of which 25,000 crores are going to be spent on around 30 airports. Under this plan, we are going to build many new airports.
Additionally, many terminal buildings, runway extensions, new lots for parking aircraft, city-side development, etc. are in the pipeline. There are many upcoming infrastructure development projects that will require accurate planning and detailing.
In order to ensure a streamlined process and smooth progress, we need to ensure interoperability among different stakeholders. This makes tech adoption and extensive deployment for asset management extremely crucial.
What would be the utility of geospatial data and satellite imagery in a common platform?
Designing an airport is similar to building a new city. When work is done at such a large scale, where you have around 5,000 acres of land with very specific requirements, satellite imagery tones down the complexity into simpler nodes.
The runaways, offices, terminals, airport buildings, hotels, and similar sites require extensive planning and land allotment. Satellite data plays a crucial role here. We are also conducting LiDAR and other surveys for remote areas since approaching them without high-level tech can be quite challenging and even misleading at times.
For instance, we are working on a new Greenfield at Port Blair where LiDAR is being extensively used for site mapping. There are many other upcoming projects as well where spatial tech will be crucial.
How do 3D models and Digital Twin help in comprehensive airport planning?
Right now, once we provide drawings to the site contractor, the terrain inaccuracies become a problem. Since we don’t get real-time information, and the contractor does, the process generates many back-and-forths and even discrepancies.
3D models and Digital Twin would help us tremendously since expansive planning and designing takes a large chunk of our time and effort to figure out precise detailing. If we have a Digital Twin of an airport, we will have everything in place much faster.
Moreover, problem-solving can also take a long time. But if we have a Digital Twin, we can highlight the issues and pain points in real-time. This will help all the stakeholders in tackling them efficiently. The utility of Digital Twin can also be expanded once the building is ready. It can become an asset in case of any further expansions, modifications, or changes in the master plan.
