The company [Shapoorji Pallonji] built the Port Blair airport, which is a marvel in many ways. To learn more about this project, the company’s operations and its adoption of technology, R SRINIVASAN spoke to Prashant Khare, Executive Vice President, Shapoorji Pallonji, Engineering & Construction Division. Excerpts:

The Port Blair project posed several challenges in the planning, construction and commissioning stages. It also faced several logistical challenges including limited ship availability, necessitating meticulous planning to ensure timely material delivery to the remote island site. Stability of the soil strata was difficult to achieve during raft works due to the presence of black cotton soil. Specialised construction equipment was not readily available locally, requiring all items to be transported by sea, either from Chennai or Kolkata. Additionally, transportation and assembly of a crawler crane from Chatham jetty, which is 8.3 km away, posed further challenges. Importing roofing systems, tensile fabric, polycarbonate sheets and larger structural sections from various parts of the world like Dubai, Israel, Germany and China added to the complexity. Prefabricated structural steel segments, including a 85 m-long spinal beam and 125 m-long cantilevers on both sides were fabricated in Chennai transported through sea and assembled on-site...

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