India’s first Elevated Cross Taxiway for planes will become operational at Delhi airport on July 13.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will inaugurate the elevated taxiway and the fourth runway at the Delhi international airport on the same day.

The elevated taxiway will reduce the distance that an aircraft has to cover after landing on the third runway and going to T1 to 2.1 km from 9 km at present.

The 2.1 km-long ECT is capable of handling two planes simultaneously and will reduce the time a passenger spends in the aircraft after landing or before take-off by almost half, bringing it down from 20 to 25 minutes at present to 10-12 minutes.

The dual-lane elevated taxiways are capable of handling large aircraft such as A380, and Boeing 777. The two taxiways will be separated by a 47-m-wide gap, which will allow safe simultaneous passage. There will also be carriageways on both ends to allow emergency vehicles to move, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said.

The Elevated Cross Taxiway will reduce taxiing distances for aircraft which will result in the saving of costly jet fuel, cut aircraft emissions and enhance operational efficiency of the airport.

 “On an annual basis there would be a reduction of approximately 55,000 tonnes of CO2 which will help to achieve a “Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport” by 2030,” said Prabhakara Rao, deputy MD of GMR Group, the company that operates Delhi airport. said,

The ECT is being constructed as part of expansion works, under which IGI Airport will also get a new fourth runway, a bigger and integrated Terminal 1, a newly expanded T1 apron for aircraft parking, several new taxiways, and landside developments alongside a host of technological enhancements, Rao added.

Officials said that ECT will give passengers heading to the airport through the central spine road or the Radisson road a view of the aircraft taxiing above them, which is similar to Singapore’s Changi International airport.