Chennai airport expansion, Sriperumbudur greenfield to be delayed

Chennai: The ongoing expansion of existing airport and the proposed second airport at Sriperumbudur may get delayed if Airports Authority of India (AAI) is not able to eliminate the bottlenecks the projects face.
The existing airport's development will be hit if defence authorities did not vacate the 19-acre land adjacent to the international terminal immediately while tardiness of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in completing a techno-economic feasibity study is delaying the Sriperumbudur airport.
Confirming the fears, AAI chairman VP Agrawal said that AAI may not be able to complete the project on time if the defence land is not held up. "We are planning to take up the issue with the defence secretary," he said.
Though the land was formally handed over to AAI in July, defence authorities are refusing to vacate a transmitter building located in it. AAI has also built a RS 3-crore transmitter station at an alternative site.
"The ongoing expansion works (building two new passenger terminals, a flyover in front of the terminals, extending the secondary runway and building a bridge across Adyar river to extend the runway) are progressing at a rapid pace and could be completed next year. But, delay in getting the defence land will impact the expansion works," said Agrawal after inaugurating a 303-metre walkalator that connects domestic and international terminals at Chennai airport on Friday. The walkalator built at a cost of Rs 12 crore helps passengers to access aero bridges of both the terminals.
Agrawal said that the financial condition of AAI would not impact the ongoing airport expansion works at Kolkata and Chennai.
28/11/09 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Nov 2009, New Nov 2009