KIRBY: building India’s aviation infrastructure

PEB technology plays significant roles in construction of terminal buildings, aircraft hangars, and warehouses
 India’s aviation industry has witnessed an unprecedented boom during last decade and especially during 11th Five-Year Plan (2007 – 2012) coupled with many ups and downs. But off late the industry is going through turbulent situation due to cut throat competition and trying to get back to normalcy with revival in air passenger traffic. Over these years, aviation industry has gone through many changes in many places such as type of air carriers, employment generation, infrastructure – construction of new and low-cost airports and development of existing ones which has resulted in private sector participation and many more.
The aviation industry’s potential in India is massive with the potential to grow at a healthy rate in coming years. According to a FICCI-KPMG report, the aviation industry accounts for approximately 0.5 per cent of India’s GDP and is estimated to become the third largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030. The central government has brought in many reforms in the aviation policy, procedures, taxation, etc. This has resulted in development of new airports and renovation or expansion of existing ones to cater to the rising middle class with disposable incomes who are very eager and enthusiastic to explore the hidden secrets of our country and tour different parts of India. Since the government has taken the task of making India’s aviation industry among world’s leading markets in a very short span of time, development of new airports and renovation or expansion of existing ones require faster construction. This is where the pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB) technology comes into picture which can be used for construction of terminal buildings, aircraft hangars, warehouses, etc.
Airport terminal buildings always need to appear aesthetically appealing which can be very well achieved by using PEB in combination with other building elements such as aluco bond panel, glazing, etc. These buildings are spread over bigger areas and require large pool of skilled workforce to take care of all the activities so that the project work is executed successfully with safety and quality. As there is continuous requirement of communication between different departments owing to the magnitude of such type of projects, Kirby’s Project Management Group and Construction Management Group are well equipped to handle such projects.Aircraft hangars are normally used as a shelter for parking of planes which include both commercial and private. These hangars are also very extensively used by India’s three elite forces: Army, Air Force and Navy for their fleet of aircrafts. Indian government is also seriously expanding all these forces that protect the Indian borders to match their global counterparts which are further expanding the scope of building more aircraft hangars across different locations in the country. Since the requirement is strictly time bound, Kirby’s steel buildings can be supplied and installed as per the project schedule thereby giving speed of delivery and faster construction. All the hangars are built with large clear spans without any intermediate columns which are required for smooth passing of any aircraft. Kirby has already supplied buildings with clear span of more than 90 m for aircraft hangars. The company has already supplied many buildings to airport and hangars to Indian corporates, Army, Air Force, Navy, etc. Kirby is fully equipped to deal with any infrastructure project and strengthen its presence in this segment which is evident from the projects already executed over these years such as power plants, metro rails, shipyards, etc.Also cargo handling facilities at large airports require warehouses which are further built with PEB as more than 80 per cent of warehouses in India are now being made with PEBs. For large storage requirements, these buildings are constructed in multi-storeyed high-rise format with architectural flexibility in design thereby reducing the requirement of land. This erstwhile concept in India has now become a widely accepted solution with proven benefits for construction in the local environment. Also with eco-friendly construction fast catching up the growth curve in the Indian market; PEB is the most viable construction solution as it is a green product with very little impact on the environment. Kirby takes all the norms of green buildings into consideration during its design stage itself so that the end-user will reap the benefits leading to saving on raw material and natural resources. The company is also a member of Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) and is always looking forward to be a part of green buildings and eco-friendly products.About Kirby Building SystemsKirby Building Systems India Ltd (Kirby India) has a capacity of 200,000 MT per annum with Hyderabad and Haridwar each having an annual capacity of 100,000 MT respectively, thereby making the company a leading player in the Indian PEB market. Kirby India has over 25 sales offices and a network of more than 100 certified builders to cater to the erection procedures as per the international standards capable to handle any type of complexity under adverse site conditions. The company has served over 4,500 customers with more than 15,000 buildings spread over an area of 22 mn sq.m. since its inception. Kirby India partners many leading institutions both from national and international front operating across all industry segments by setting up their facilities in India and across the globe.
Over these years, Kirby India has evolved from a mere manufacturer of PEB to a total solution provider that is capable of supplying a packaged solution for all building requirements maintaining international quality standards and fulfilling the entire customer demand. Like a true leader, it has constantly tried to set new standards in the PEB industry. n
Contact:
Kirby Building Systems India Ltd.Deepesh Nagar