Chennai Airport expansion project

Top officials in city on secret mission

NT Bureau
Chennai, Nov 12:
Close on the heels of the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's recent assertion that Chennai International Airport expansion work would begin soon, senior officials from New Delhi are in the city to assess, analyse and prepare a final blueprint to quicken the expansion project.

Informed sources today said that the officials are in a covert mission because of the stiff opposition from people who would be hit by the proposed expansion project.

The preliminary works are said to be already underway for the expansion cum upgradation project of the city airport.

The Chennai Airport expansion project kicked up a lot of political mudslinging and strong opposition from people of Pallavaram, Kaul Bazaar, Pozhichalur, Pammal and Anakaputhur as they would have to be evacuated for the project.More than 10,000 houses, 14 higher secondary schools, 26 places of worship and scores of buildings belonging to commercial establishments are there in these areas and these would have to be razed down to facilitate the expansion under the original proposal.

However, in the wake of rising opposition, the incumbent DMK government reiterated that the scheme would be remodelled so as not to displace the tens of thousands of families in the southern suburbs.

An alternate site measuring about 1467 acres on the northern side of the airport has also been identified for the purpose.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister who was here recently to inaugurate the National Automotive Research Centre stated that work would begin soon for the city's airport expansion project.

As a sequel, PA Sharma and Subash Chand were deputed on behalf of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Civil Aviation department to analyse all the aspects (including technicalities like number of runways, location of air traffic control tower and other buildings) and report before 3 December, informed sources said.

The officials have also been provided with a team of staff to assist them in carrying out the preparatory works in the city, sources added.

The Chennai airport's upgradation on par with world-class international airports was a long felt need in view of burgeoning passenger and cargo traffic year after year.

The decades-old current infrastructure was felt to be inadequate and unsuitable to handle increasing passenger and cargo traffic, besides building a better security net in and around the airport area.




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