Air traffic control towers that are also architectural statements in their own right have come to define airports born or reborn in the past decade. So if Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport boasts of the tallest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower in the world with its stem shooting up to a height of 132 m, then the one at Abu Dhabi, shaped like a crescent moon, draws upon Islamic culture. And soon, Mumbai airport, too, will be part of this trend. The airport’s new tower with its futuristic design is set to grab eyeballs when construction will be completed by the end of this year. It will be the tallest structure in the vicinity. “The tower, which will be a striking landmark, will be 83 m from ground level. That is approximately the same height as a 30-storey building,” said a Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) spokesperson. The existing ATC tower, which stands uncomfortably close to the secondary runway of Mumbai airport, is a modest 60 m. Unlike skyscrapers, air traffic control towers cannot afford to be too ambitious while scaling new heights because of their proximity to low-flying aircraft. The cost of the fully equipped tower is estimated at Rs 400 crore. It is slated to be commissioned by July 2012. By the end of 2011, motorists plying the Western Express Highway will be able to catch a glimpse of the part of the tower that will house the Air Traffic Control room—a triangular three-dimensional structure with soft vertices. The interpretation is left to your imagination. It may look like a spaceship hovering over or parked at the airport or a ship atop the skyline. Once the structure is completed, the Airports Authority of India will install new equipment as well as control and monitoring systems. This will be followed by a testing period, which is expected to take six to eight months. Air traffic controllers will begin their transition into the new tower in July 2012. Both, the old and the new ATC towers, will operate simultaneously for three to six months to overcome teething problems. From the new tower, an air traffic controller will be able to see five miles beyond beyond the start and end points of each of the runways. From the stocky, uninspired concrete blocks of yesteryear to modern-day transparent polymer structures, ATC towers around the world are going through a renaissance of sorts.
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