BIAL marches towards in-house waste management mechanism
The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is owned and operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL)
The Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru is taking steady steps towards minimising its carbon footprint. The airport is working to install an in-house waste management facility, which once commissioned, will convert waste into sustainable energy.
The concept of green airports in India is not just a new hyped mode. The country is amongst the top five fastest growing markets that would witness a whopping 266 million additional passengers per year, to see a total of 367 million passengers by 2034.
While growth is prominent, the infrastructure expansion it will parallel has another side to it – landscape deterioration and biodiversity damage. Realising this, various stakeholders have made sustainability their focal point, and one of them is the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru, operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL). The airport generates more than 20 tonnes of waste every day during its operations, and is working to establish its own solid waste management facility by January 2019.
Ekolog Ltd – a Polish company, will assist the airport authorities to implement the project under Design-Build-Own-Operate (DBOO) basis. According to airport officials, first phase of the project will have the capability to process 20 tonnes per day (TPD), which will be scalable to 60 TPD.
Once commissioned, organic waste will be converted into bio-energy to generate enough electricity to power approximately 5,000 households every year. The facility will also generate around 1.5 million kilos organic compost per year.
According to Ratna Prabha, chief secretary and chairperson, BIAL, this project is a big leap towards sustainability leading to scientific and systematic waste management including reduced landfill and increased resource recovery.
After BIAL successfully implements the mechanism to convert its waste into useable resources, the Kempegowda International Airport will become the first in Asia to adopt an in-house, sustainable and integrated waste management facility.
