Kempegowda International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Bangalore, Karnataka, located at Devanahalli, about 30 km from Bangalore City Railway Station and covers about 4,700 acres. The airport opened in May 2008 as Bengaluru International Airport, replacing the HAL Airport as the city’s main commercial airport. It was renamed in 2013 after Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bangalore.
Kempegowda Airport is being expanded in two phases. The new airport was originally planned to accommodate 6.5 million passengers a year, but, this was later redesigned to handle 12 million passengers per year. The redesign resulted in an increase in the size of the terminal, number of aircraft stands, new taxiway layouts and supporting infrastructure.
The Phase 1 was completed in December 2013. The passenger terminal was expanded to a size of 150,556m, with check-in, immigration, security, and baggage reclaim facilities all expanded. In addition, Terminal 1A was constructed as an extension to the original terminal. This terminal added 3 international gates, one of which is capable of handling the Airbus A380. Overall, Phase 1 has raised Kempegowda Airport’s passenger capacity to 20 million per year.
Design Concept The existing airport at Bangalore was extended on 3 sides, on the west side by 176m x 100m, on the east side by 176m x 100.64 m and on the south side by 217m x 42m. Each extension has a wavy and complex 3D surface, supported on very tall tree columns. The roof trusses were designed to be straight elements with changes in angle at the ends to follow the shape of the roof. The change in angle was effected using specially developed connectors called as quad nodes. These nodes helped in ensuring that the connections were standardized and modular.
This design decision increased reliability of the geometry, helped in streamlining the fabrication activities and ensured accuracy of the structural form after erection. Â The tree columns of this project were long and unique and required a high degree of finish and precision. The structure was completely bolted with no welding at site, to ensure accuracy and quality of assembly at site. Special jigs and fixtures were developed to reliably fabricate the various trusses which had no repetition. One of the key requirements in a complex project is the reliability of the drawings generated from the design. In-house software developed helped to generate the geometry automatically, and to design and detail the connections.
This software was also developed to handle the automated generation of shop drawings, bill of quantities, painting areas etc.  Challenges Faced in Execution During the analyses of the roof structure and the existing RC building, it was found that the RC building could not be loaded with any horizontal forces from the new steel roof. To overcome this, a special ‘double knuckle’ joint was developed by Geodesic to ensure no horizontal forces were transmitted to the old RC structure from the new steel roof.
The greatest challenge faced was in executing the project, handling the constraints in material handling and movements, etc. without disturbing the functioning of the existing airport. Also, the civil work handing over of work-fronts was not keeping pace or sequence with the steel roof. Â So, the challenge was to alter the fabrication sequence frequently based on the civil work completion. Â Â Safety Measures Adopted An elaborate HSE manual encompassing all safety aspects of the project was developed, implemented and practiced.
Safety Induction Pep talks / tool box meetings every day before starting the work Use of relevant PPEs made compulsory for each and every person working in the project Work permits were always taken for high risk works like hot work permit, heavy lifting permit, permit for working at heights, etc. Ensured third party certification for all equipments, tools and tackles Ensured fire prevention programme followed as described in the safety manual Conducted awareness training programme to one and all to ensure emergency preparedness  Ensured adherence to certain important aspects of safety such as electrical safety, ladder safety, etc.
Steel Sections:
Seamless Pipes (NB50, NB 65, Nb80), Built-up I Sections, ISMB Sections, UB/UC Sections, Plates, ERW Pipes for Purlins