Imam Khomeini International Airport (OIIE), Tehran, Iran

Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) in Tehran, Iran, opened on 8 May 2004 and was immediately closed by the Sepah Pasdaran (Islamic Revolutionary Guard) amid security concerns over foreigners running the airport.

This was the latest of a series of setbacks which plagued the initial opening of the new facilities. The airport had been due to open in February 2004, but this was delayed because of a failure of the operating consortium to sign a deal with the Iranian oil ministry to supply the airport with fuel.

CONSTRUCTION SETBACKS

The airport was constructed – and was due to be operated – by a consortium of Turkish and Austrian companies, TAV (Tepe-Akfen-Vie).

Just prior to the May 2004 opening, two Iranian airlines refused to switch to an airport run by foreigners and the military took this out of context by completely shutting the airport down, citing serious security problems. The problem was quoted to be the Turkish element of the operating company (Tepe-Afken).

TAV officials were forced to clear out personnel and equipment and rescind control of the airport to Iran Air. The airport was able to reopen on 13 May 2005 following lengthy negotiations which excluded the Turkish element of the consortium from having anything further to do with the running of the airport.

TAV believed they had a legitimate memorandum of understanding giving them control to operate the airport for a term of 11.25 years, but the outcome of their protestation to being ousted was a generous compensation payment from the Iranians and a 'golden handshake'. The Iranians feel that for security reasons they do not want a major facility such as the airport in foreign control.

To further complicate matters from a diplomatic point of view, British and Canadian officials have also warned their nationals not to use the airport due to alleged safety concerns with the runway.

The runway, it is claimed, has been constructed over ancient qanats (subterranean waterways) which criss-cross the desert and could seriously affect its strength and possibly cause subsidence. This has not been substantiated by new surveys. The Iranians have countered this by stating there are no safety concerns and the runways have been thoroughly inspected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and awarded safety certification.

The new airport terminal is equipped with state-of-the-art aviation technology and is estimated to have cost $350m. Associated investment projects, carried out by either private or public enterprises, include aircraft hangars, in-flight catering, hotel, duty-free shops, fuel supply and passenger and cargo handling facilities. The airport in its entirety has been estimated to have cost over $1bn.

WHY WAS THE NEW AIRPORT NECESSARY?

The new airport is located about 30km south of the city. It was designed to replace Mehrabad International Airport, which is in the west of the city and now inside the city boundaries.

The new airport took over all domestic and international flights from Mehrabad Airport in April 2006.

The Iranian Civil Aviation Organisation (CAO) recognised, in studies carried out in 1996, that Mehrabad could not be upgraded and expanded with reasonable economy to meet the expected growth levels for the areas air traffic.

The Imam Khomeini airport is now ideally placed for further expansion in the future should it be made necessary by a rapid increase in passenger traffic.

CONSTRUCTION WORK

Imam Khomeini International Airport is named after the revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini of the 1979 Iranian revolution, which overthrew the Shah. The airport complex is located in a 15,000ha area located some 30km to the south of Tehran, on the Tehran-Qom highway, in Fashafouyeh, near Shar-e Rey.

Work on the project began before the Islamic Revolution in 1979 but was halted due to political circumstances (the original designers were TAMS (a US company); a local joint venture was formed and was called TAMS-AFA to carry out the full design and supervision of construction). Overall responsibility for the project rests with the ministry for roads and transportation.

The Tehran Metro Line 1 is being extended to the south to connect to the airport and provide a viable fast link from the city centre directly to the international terminal. The link from the city centre is still not complete necessitating a 1.5-hour taxi journey from the city to reach the airport. The metro line extension is expected to be complete by the first quarter of 2007.

Work on the airport construction started in 1994 and will progress in phases according to the demands placed on it for passenger and cargo transportation. The newly opened airport has a capacity of 6.5 million passengers (2.5 million international and four million domestic) and 200,000t of cargo a year. In later phases it is estimated that the airport will eventually be able to handle 40 million passengers a year and 700,000 t of cargo, making Tehran a regional transport hub to rival Dubai.

RUNWAYS

The first airport runway, 11L/29R, was paved with asphalt and built to a size of 4,200m x 45m with 10.5m-wide shoulders.

The second runway, 11R/29L, was constructed to the same specifications and dimensions in phase two of the project.

A total of 12.8km of taxiway area connects runways with passenger and cargo terminals, hangars and a 30m-wide engine test pad. The apron area is more than 450,000m² wide to accommodate a total of 24 aircraft. Later plans allow for additional runways to be constructed when required.

CONTROL TOWER

The 56.9m-high control tower has an area of 1,100m². The four-storey, glass-fronted technical block spans 6,800m².

Navigation aids include the 755 DVOR (doppler, very-high frequency, omni-directional radio range), supplied by Fernau, the 2020 DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) and the Normarc ILS NM 7000 instrument landing system, providing the airport with ICAO CAT III approach and landing capability.

TERMINAL BUILDING

The passenger terminal building has a floor space of 78,357m² and is a three-level structure comprising a basement, departure and arrival halls at ground level, as well as a mezzanine arrivals floor. The complex has 14 air bridges linking the aircraft, piers and gate lounges. There are only two gates for security checking passengers (one for men and the other for women) but there are 88 check-in counters in the departure area.

There are 1,800 car parking spaces in a two-storey car park that can be reached via passenger footbridges. Two-level access roads separate the arrivals and departures area. Supporting structures include administration, services, maintenance, airport police and security guard buildings, and nearly 100 residential buildings on a 10,000m² complex.

UTILITIES

The remote location of IKIA has placed considerable demands on the supply of utilities. A branch line was laid from the main gas trunk line to the east of the Qom Highway, while wells were drilled for water supply.

This is only sufficient for a few years of operations and the eventual aim is to transfer and treat water from Tehran's reservoirs. Tehran refinery is establishing a fuel supply through a new 250mm-diameter, 33km-long pipeline. Distribution of utilities around the airport is facilitated via a 2,850m concrete tunnel.

LEAD CONTRACTORS

Aéroports de Paris (ADP) was responsible for the master plan and preliminary design, and undertook supervision of procurement, installation, commissioning and testing of airport equipment and systems, as well as coordination and integration in the first phase.

The main contractors for the first phase were two Iranian companies, Dey and Melli Sakhteman. Fernau (UK) was one of the international contractors working on the project installing systems in the control tower in the first phase.

Bonyad Mostazafan & Janbazan (M&J Foundation) were the company responsible for the construction of the terminal building.

TAV (Tepe-Akfen of Turkey and Vie Construction of Austria) were awarded the second phase construction project prior to the airport opening and were supposed to carry out the project on a Build Operate Transfer (BOT) basis with an 11.25-year lease for the operations. However for reasons mentioned earlier this did not happen.

TAV therefore finished the remaining airport facilities required for opening by the start of 2004 and were removed from the project and the running of the airport.

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