The opening of the new terminal building at Chennai airport gets further delayed. It may now be inaugurated by March 2013.
Airport director H.S. Suresh attributed the delay to the civil aviation ministry’s decision to wait until the installation of inline baggage screening systems and facilities like ATM kiosks and Forex counters.
“Initially, we were hoping for a September opening, but the ministry insisted that everything be put in place before the terminals begin functioning,” he said. Instead of waiting for inline systems to be set up, the terminals could begin operations with standalone machines to screen baggage, he said
“We are yet to receive the final decision of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security on the specifications of new inline screening systems. Also, we faced some issues with the contracts for commercial establishments like ATM kiosks,” Mr. Suresh said.
Now, there are four standalone machines and four inline screening systems in the old domestic and international terminals respectively.
The new domestic and international terminals will have eight inline screening systems costing Rs. 4 crore each.
“Tenders have been called for these machines and it may take around two months to complete the process. As far as commercial contracts go, we have to shortlist the bidders and issue the tenders. All this is expected to be completed by March,” he said.
