In line with the meteoric growth in air travel in India, the project developed a state of the art international and domestic terminal complex on part of the existing airport with ultimate capacity of over 100 million passengers, transforming the airport into a highly rated travel experience.
ejet were Aviation Fuel specialist consultant to the Project Management Consultant to DIAL (part of the GMR Group).
Far from being a planned project involvement, we were originally hired to review a small number of drawings remotely as a desk top study. Once our expertise became evident to our client, we swiftly became an integral part of their service offering to DIAL, engaging in the full span of engineering, construction, commissioning and commercial advice to the airport operator. In total we spent half a year on site, making more than 20 visits to Delhi.
The new Aviation Fuel hydrant system comprises 13 km of 24 inch diameter linepipe and in excess of 150 hydrant pits. The system is divided into discrete sections by high-integrity valves housed in 36 valve chambers distributed on the various aprons. The Emergency Shut Down system is high-tech and makes use of the communications ethernets which are a fundamental part of the airport development.
Major changes were required to the fuel farm in order to integrate it with the new hydrant system. A fundamental issue was how to commission the new systems without disrupting existing operations at the legacy terminals – and planning for this commenced 12 months in advance. Once jet fuel was introduced to the system, soak testing and flushing of the new facilities took place in 2009/10.
Flushing required considerable engineering for temporary piping works (including filtration) suitable for handling the Jet A-1 used as the flushing medium at flow rates of 2 million litres per hour, and the temporary reconfiguration of two 9000 m³ tanks for the issue and receipt of fuel for flushing.
ejet also helped DIAL by carrying out Factory Acceptance Tests outside India of some key items of Aviation Fuel equipment which were being imported for the project. These took place in vendors’ works and we prepared full reports for the client
Whilst ejet were heavily involved in technical issues throughout the process from 2007 onwards, major contribution to commercial issues was also made. Following on from developments at Hong Kong and Bangalore, the principles of Open Access fuel supply were embraced by DIAL in order to give airlines maximum flexibility in fuel purchasing and planning. The full set of necessary agreements were drafted and reviewed over the 2 years leading up to the opening of Terminal 3. The mechanisms are in place for full implementation of Open Access when the Indian legislative framework allows any suitably qualified party to handle and supply Aviation Fuel inland.
Another major input was the definition of the Aviation Fuel business model, and the process to hire a fuel concessionaire and operator. This involved the preparation of technical and commercial statements of requirements on behalf of DIAL as a cornerstone of the tender package, and participation in the evaluation and negotiation processes. Similar work was also carried out to hire two into-plane fuelling service providers.
The final part of the work was in the completion phase, approving the contractor’s handover documentation.
An excellent assignment which started from very small beginnings.
Client testimonial
"I cannot recommend John highly enough. He is an expert in airport fueling, knows the industry inside out and did an excellent job for Parsons Brinckerhoff on the New Delhi International Airport Terminal 3, Runway & Associated Works project. He was involved in the planning, design and also construction management and site inspection of the complete fueling system in the new aprons and also how they tied into the old system. He was able to recommend changes in the contractor design which saved the client $ and they loved him. He also did an excellent job on site inspection for the entire fueling system, supervising our local staff which gave me the confidence that all was OK on such a specialized aspect of the project. Early in his work with us, John also identified an opportunity to influence shaping the commercial structure of the jet fuel business at the airport, and through his work this became an important area where PB helped the client."
Peter Wright, Project Director at Parsons Brinckerhoff
