New Delhi: The installation of aerobridges at modern airports is a routine affair, not normally associated with security threats. Except in India, that is. With the government taking up modernisation of metro airports like Chennai and Kolkata, and non-metro airports, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) wants to install aerobridges to allow passengers a smooth entry and exit from their aircraft. Unfortunately, the ones it has zeroed in on are made by Chinese firms and the absence of security clearance means its plans have hit a roadblock.
Even after one-and-a-half years, AAI has not yet received the green signal from the Union Home Ministry to place an order for nearly 40 aerobridges which it needs, causing considerable delay in the modernisation projects of airports.
“Clarifications from the Home Ministry have not come for one-and-a-half-years now. There has been considerable delay. The Ministry has not communicated either ‘yes' or ‘no' to us,” official sources said.
The difference in prices between aerobridges produced by Chinese firms and those from the West was said to be substantial. While the cost of an aerobridge produced in Europe or the U.S. is about Rs. 6 crore, it was Rs. 2 crore for those from China, sources said.
31/07/11 Vinay Kumar/The Hindu
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