The Mumbai-based firm moved a team to the southern city, which handled the work within the constraints of a tight timeframe. The personnel at Tarmat were aware that the work would be challenging. The project was not straightforward as the airport is busy and construction could only be carried out during the night, when there were no incoming or outgoing flights. In addition, the construction team had to be careful to ensure that all equipment and materials had to be moved from the runway during its use by aircraft.
The project required 3000tonnes of asphalt mix to be placed daily, within a five-hour working window. The resurfacing also included a profile correction of the runway at the airport, located in the city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, India. Carrying out runway work is tough as it is demanding work that requires extensive planning and careful working, combined with efficient quality assurance.
The firm was given a timeframe of eight months to complete the project, but managed to carry out over 90% of the work in four months. The crew had to be productive to handle the job in such a short timeframe. However, the firm pointed out that high plant and machine uptime was key to the productivity. The equipment for the job was supplied by Ammann India, which also provided support for the units.
Tarmat used several key Ammann products on the project, including two Ammann ABC 140 ValueTec asphalt plants and an Ammann sprayer. Reliable onsite parts support from Ammann was important, along with training. Ammann India provided trained operators and technicians to the site, which the contractor said provided a significant benefit to productivity. Tarmat also said that Ammann engineers monitored the condition of the ABC ValueTec batch plants and machines regularly as well as maintaining the machinery proactively, ensuring that there were no breakdowns. For this last point, the contractor said that the maintenance routines were scheduled by Ammann India so that the firm’s productive hours onsite were not impacted.
Tarmat has carried out airport works previously, including resurfacing, extending, strengthening and constructing runways, gates and aprons. This work has been carried out at multiple airports, air bases and helipad sites across India. Some of the firm’s previous projects include the MES Arakkonam Naval airport, with one of the longest runways in India; Jamnagar Airport; AAI Mumbai International Airport and Delhi IGI International Airport. Meanwhile, more projects are being planned including construction works at Chennai, Tuticorn, Trichy, Rajkot and Pathankhot.
