Army delays Anna International Airport expansion

Despite the Union Cabinet taking a decision at a recent meeting to hand over defence land near Anna International Airport for the expansion of the airport, the Army is yet to give the property to the Airports Authority of India.
The holdup is likely to lead to the airport expansion — vital for the city given the inadequacy of the existing facility and the hitches that the proposed second airport faces — being delayed again till the issue is resolved. “The Army is yet to let go of the old transmitter tower and the 21 acres of land it occupies in the area,” a senior airport official said. “There has been a longstanding dispute between the AAI and defence ministry over the land and it has affected the ongoing airport expansion project.”
“The Cabinet has reportedly issued notifications for the land to be handed over, but we are yet to get a communication in the affirmative from the Army,” he added. Sources said the AAI and defence ministry are now in agreement on the matter, but senior defence officials in the region are being intractable and are delaying the handover of the land.
“AAI has built a spacious building and a transmitter station at an alternative station at a cost of Rs 3 crore,” an official source pointed out.
06/10/10 Deccan Chronicle

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Categories: airports Oct 2010