Chennai: Interminable delays , botch-ups in construction and a series of cost overruns has the project to modernise and expand the Chennai airport in free fall - and all signs point to a very hard landing.
The cost of the project to build two new passenger terminals , extend the secondary runway and provide additional passengers facilities has escalated by more than 1,000 crore, documents accessed by TOI show. The airport expansion has also been delayed by two years.
Independent auditors and officials in the office of Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG) say the delays and faulty planning and execution , which led to the project cost increasing from 1,808.25 crore to 2,862.71 crore, points to a possible scam. The project was scheduled to be completed by January 2011, but more than 27 months after the scheduled deadline, all that AAI has to show is a complete hash-up.
06/05/13 Arun Janardhanan/Times of India
