Identifying Effective Sustainable Development Indicators for Airport Construction Projects: Zahedan International Airport in Iran as Case Study

Airport plays an important role in the heart of the regions in which they are located, as well as in certain sectors of activity, such as tourism. Air transport makes a major contribution to sustainable development by supporting and promoting international tourism. The available rating systems need to better incorporate the broader socioeconomic settings associated with the built environment. This paper identified key indicators for assessing the sustainability performance of an airport construction projects. The research data used for analysis were collected from a questionnaire survey given to three groups of experts, including employer, consulting engineers, and contractors of Iranian airport construction projects. The importance of sustainability indicators was identified by using statistical analysis and software such as SPSS. The fuzzy set theory was used to establish key assessment indicators (KAIs). Cronbach's alpha coefficient method was used in this study to evaluate the data reliability. A questionnaire survey among practitioners confirmed the necessity and identified priority indicators of sustainability. A procedure for using the KAIs is demonstrated by a case study. The research results demonstrated the importance of sustainability knowledge, indicators, as a positive step toward assessing sustainability in airport projects. The authors identified 25 key indicators of airport construction projects based on Iran conditions that are consistent with the principles of sustainable development. Findings showed that technical aspect with a weight factor of 32% is the highest aspect and then economic and environment aspects with 24% and, finally, social aspect with 20%.

Automated summary

Airports play a crucial role in their regions and tourism sectors, contributing significantly to sustainable development by supporting international tourism. This study identified key indicators for assessing the sustainability performance of airport construction projects, emphasizing the importance of technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects in the evaluation.