Cost of runway-tunnel road to T3 shoots up, as new expenses emerge

New Delhi: The cost of zipping to IGI Airport's new terminal T3 through India's first runway-tunnel road has shot up by almost 50%. The crucial 1.5-km-long road with a 343-metre-long tunnel under the main runway was initially projected to cost Rs 67 crore. But now the six-lane road's cost has shot up to almost Rs 100 crore, Rs 99.7 crore to be precise. The airport authorities had made it clear from the beginning that the job of providing connectivity to T3 was of the state government. But when that job seemed to have been delayed by years, the government asked airport land to be used for a new link and agreed that the cost would be borne by the state.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is getting the tunnel-road built by Delhi Metro, India's biggest expert in drilling, who in turn have asked L&T to execute the project. The initial projected cost was just the contractor expense, say sources. A number of other expenses have come up that have led to cost escalation. These include laying of road, building a foot-over bridge, security equipment inside the tunnel that will pass below the main runway, and CCTVs for monitoring and tunnel lighting.
27/07/10 Times of India/Saurabha Sinha

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Categories: Airports Jul 2010, New Jul 2010