New Delhi, Aug. 21: Asia’s longest runway is now at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here.

Built at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore and inaugurated today, the runway will double the airport’s capacity (peak hour) to 70 landings and take-offs. The airport is expected to handle about 1400-1500 flights a day once this runway becomes operational later this month.

Completed more than six months ahead of schedule, the 75-metre-wide facility is capable of handling new generation large aircraft such as the Airbus A380. Carriers such as Emirates, British Airways and Air France are expected to ply the A380 here ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

“The runway and a planned terminal will form India’s new gateway to the world when it welcomes participants and guests for the Commonwealth Games,” Kiran Kumar Grandhi, business chairman — airports, GMR Group said. GMR is the head of a consortium that runs the airport.

A survey by the Airports Authority of India said that an estimated 30 to 35 million passengers a year would use the airport by 2010 up from 23 million passengers in 2007.

Problems such as low visibility in winter because of foggy conditions, which have dogged airlines for decades, may also get solved airport officials said.

“The runway like the one next to it is equipped with CAT IIIB Instrument Landing System at both ends allowing aircraft fitted with compatible instrument to land even when the visibility is as low as 50 metres,” said Arun Arora, vice-president with the airport operator.

Besides, an advanced surface movement guidance system has been deployed to track the movement of the aircraft along the runway, said Arora.

Inaugurating the runway, civil aviation minister Praful Patel said construction activities to modernise and expand the Calcutta and Chennai airports by the Airports Authority of India would begin by the end of next month.

“Physical construction (at these two airports) should begin by the end of September,” he said.