The feasibility report of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which has suggested that a second airport for the city could come up on 5,000 acres at Sriperumbudur, was submitted to the State government on Saturday. A copy of the report was handed over by Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman V.P. Agarwal to Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi.
Giving details about his meeting with the Chief Secretary, Mr. Agarwal told The Hindu that the AAI had also informed the State government that it was ready to execute the project on its own. In the first phase, the AAI would spend Rs. 5,000 crore to develop the runway, terminal buildings and other facilities at the new airport. “The State government has to decide whether to have a second airport or to create a parallel runway at the existing airport,” he said.
When the State government expressed its concern over the delay in the commissioning of the two new terminal buildings, the Chairman assured the State officials that the new domestic terminal would be ready by December 31 this year and the international terminal by end of January next year. The assurance, which the AAI had already given to the Parliamentary Standing Committee Chairman Sitaram Yechury, would be honoured by the AAI, Mr. Agarwal said.
A new advanced Ground Based Augmentation System will soon be introduced at the Chennai airport. This will make the Instrument Landing System available in all the directions. Already, the installation work has begun and it is expected to be completed in a year.
As for the land required for providing lighting facilities to the extended part of the secondary runway, the State government assured the AAI authorities that land acquisition work would be expedited.
Madurai airport
Talking about the Madurai airport, Mr. Agarwal said the Union Finance Ministry had issued an order notifying the Madurai airport as a Customs Airport. The AAI would now approach the State government to set up Immigration counters. Once that work was completed, a good deal of load from Tiruchi airport could be shifted to Madurai, he said.
Similarly, if the State government wanted to develop the airport at Thanjavur, the AAI could ask the Air Force authorities to return 30 acres of land to create a new airport, he said.
