The inauguration of the Rs. 300 crore-world class terminal complex of Thiruvananthapuram International Airport has been delayed by two days to enable the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel to commission the first world class terminal of a non-metro airport on July 16.
The confirmation of the date of the commissioning of the terminal and the arrival of Mr. Patel has put an end to the row between the State and the Airports Authority of India on the decision to commission the terminal on July 14 by the Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, Vayalar Ravi.
The state had opposed the move to get the terminal commissioned by Mr. Ravi and had wished that the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh should do the honours as it is a prestigious project. Following the row over how will inaugurate, the Chief Minister, V. S. Achuthanandan had contacted Mr. Singh over telephone and had requested him to commission the terminal.
The decision to commission the terminal by Mr. Patel on July 16, two days after the original schedule, comes after the Prime Minister had informed that he will be able to come down only in October. The state had also made it clear that it does not have any objection in Mr. Patel doing the honours.
A top Airports Authority of India official told The Hindu that Mr. Achuthanandan, Mr. Ravi, Sashi Tharoor MP, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar who is also in-charge of Aviation, Mayor C. Jayan Babu, legislators and top officials of Civil Aviation Ministry and AAI will grace the function to be held in the new terminal premises.
The AAI was awaiting the dates of the VVIP's for commissioning the terminal since May. The AAI had even gone ahead with the formalities to commission the terminal on May 20 by Mr. Patel. The opposition from many quarters over the decision of Airports Economic Regulatory Authority to collect User Development Fee of Rs. 755 from each international passenger flying out from here for 10 years resulted in the postponement.
Mr. Patel is learnt to have decided to skip the function as a final decision on the user development fee is yet to be taken. Following the intervention of the State, the decision has now been referred to the three-member AERA Appelate Tribunal headed by the former Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat.
On the instructions from the AAI headquarters on Wednesday, the AAI authorities here has started the work for the function and the arrangements were reviewed at a meeting chaired by Airport Director, V. N. Chandran.
All the works to be carried out by the AAI in the three-storey terminal building that has come up facing the Parvathy Puthanar on Chakka side had been completed. X-ray machines, Baggage-claim conveyors, escalators, public address system, flight information display system, CCTV for surveillance and three glass aerobridges have been put into place already.
The final cleaning work is in full swing in the terminal and landscaping works in front of the complex are in final stages. ‘We have allocated space for all the stake holders. We have invited tenders for the executive lounge in the mezzanine floor that literally hangs from the ceiling', Mr. Chandran said.
The eight parking bays constructed at a cost of Rs.14.5 crore have been integrated with the existing 3,398-metre-long runway. With this, the aircraft can now reach the new terminal building on the city side. The AAI is gearing up to commence flight operations from the new terminal on August 1. The domestic flights will be from the old terminal for the time being.
The AAI has a tubular structure of elliptical geometry to cater to the futuristic needs. The terminal, fully funded by the AAI, was constructed by the Chennai-based Consolidated Construction Consortium.
The 19 metre high terminal building has all the modern facilities with the state-of-the-art user-friendly facilities. The in-line x-ray baggage inspection system has been integrated with the departure conveyor system. In addition to inclined arrival baggage claim carousals, Common User Terminal Equipment (CUTE) had been provided in the check-in counters.
The terminal complex has a floor area of 32,200 sq metres and can handle 800 arriving and 800 departing passengers during the peak hour. The terminal has been provided with 30 check-in counters, 14 immigration counters, eight customs booths and three baggage claim conveyors.
The 220-metre-long six-land bridge and two exclusive ramps connecting them from Chakka and Eenchakkal, constructed at a cost of Rs.21.73 crore by KITCO for the State government to connect the terminal to the NH 47 bypass had been completed. The KITCO is doing the finishing works.
Labour disputes over unloading of construction materials, non-availability of construction materials, unseasonal rain and delay on the part of the State to construct the approach road led to the revision of the deadline for the completion of the project scheduled for December 2008. Dr. Singh had laid the foundation for the terminal on November 1, 2006.
Of the 120 hectares needed for the AAI for the terminal complex, the state had provided only 37 hectares so far. The AAI is putting pressure on the state to handover the remaining land to take up further development of the terminal, including the construction of the new domestic terminal.
