ADB SAFEGATE Equips India’s New Navi Mumbai International Airport (Nmia) With Cutting-Edge Airfield 4.0 Lighting Technology for a Vivid Future

Adani Group, the developer and operator of Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), through the EPC Contractor Larsen & Toubro has partnered with ADB SAFEGATE to utilize Airfield 4.0 technology ensuring advanced future capability as it continues development on the first phase of construction. The cutting-edge airfield lighting solution readies the greenfield airfield for Level 4 Advanced Surface Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) integration, which will allow advanced routing and guidance along with Follow the Greens technology in the future. 

Expected to complete construction of Phase 1 by the end of next year, the airport plans to service 20 million annual passengers and alleviate congestion from the nearby Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), which ranks as one of the busiest single-runway airports in the world. 

The creation of NMIA, officially named D. B. Patil International Airport, has been decades in the making, and will feature two runways and three terminals spread out in a lotus shape, the national flower of India. At over 1160 hectares in size, it will operate as a domestic and regional hub and service customers using the absolute latest in airport infrastructure technology. The new Airfield 4.0 lighting system and capabilities delivered by ADB SAEGATE, under the EPC contractor Larsen & Toubro (L&T), will ensure the airport is ready for full future integrations in safety and efficiency.

Airfield 4.0 represents the future of air travel, and takes advantage of smart lighting technologies, powerful cloud computing and automation tools, and digitizes the airfield with new communication platforms. The airport’s new AXON EQ intelligent LED lights communicate via LINC 360, the next generation of powerline communication that allows secure and reliable bidirectional interaction. Having the absolute latest in smart LED driven airfield ground lighting systems and technologies allows NMIA to highlight future service and maintenance needs and allow real-time data-driven decision making on an intelligent platform.

“These latest airfield technologies will allow NMIA to meet its goal of operating their A-SMGCS at Level 4, the highest level of implementation based on complexity and traffic density,” said Aziz Cakir, VP ME & Africa, ADB SAFEGATE. “The new AXON lights with intelligence not only provide huge long-term maintenance advantages but along with LINC 360 are best suited for the Follow the Greens concept to enable tracking of aircraft and control a pathway with green lights for the aircraft to follow down the runway, onto the taxiway and into the gate. This Follow the Greens and routing & guidance of aircraft when implemented shall save on power consumption, reduce pilot navigation errors, and increase safety on the airfield,” adds Aziz Cakir.

By the final phase completion, the airport expects to service 60 million annual passengers and handle 1.5 million tons of cargo annually. With the high anticipated growth in demand, smart solutions to ensure safety and efficiency are absolutely critical for success. A digitized airfield delivered by Airfield 4.0 technologies will allow for monitoring and real-time sharing of information to provide solutions with the potential to predict any arising issues. The data collected will also enable more predictive maintenance of airfield infrastructure.

NMIA will be the third such project over the last few years between ADB SAFEGATE and Larsen & Toubro to provide smart lighting solutions. L&T is a major player in Indian airport design and construction, with 11 completed international airports in India and the Middle East, and 4 international airport expansion projects already underway in addition to the creation of NMIA.

Adani Group is the largest airport infrastructure developer and operator group in India, with one in every four passengers in India passing through an airport they run, and accounting for 33% of the country’s air cargo traffic.

ADB SAFEGATE is excited to continue partnering with these important Indian entities to deliver safe and effective airfield solutions.