With civil works for the upcoming airport nearing completion at Abdullapuram, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) now awaits a letter of authority from the State Highways Department, which will allow it to complete construction of the airstrip.
At a meeting held at the Vellore Collectorate earlier this month, it was decided that the State Highways Department would hand over a piece of land, required for runway connectivity, to the AAI.
Accordingly, the State Highways Department has to hand over a piece of land on Abdullapuram-Alangayam Road (SH-122) and seek ₹1.7 crore for construction of another road adjacent to the airport compound wall.
Sources with State highways said the road would provide connectivity to Asanambut, Alangayam and many other villages enroute.
When complete, the airport would provide connectivity to airports at Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad. 20 seater planes would ply between these airports, AAI sources said.
The Vellore airport was sanctioned under the second phase of the UDAN-RCS (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagarik-Regional Connectivity) scheme.
Electrical work
According to AAI officials, construction of the terminal building was complete and electrical work was under way. Putting to rest speculations over the inauguration of the Vellore airport, the AAI officials clarified that it would take a minimum of three to six months for operations to commence. The final word has to come from State Highways, Chennai.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will then have to issue airport licence after the Civil Aviation Ministry carries out spot inspections. Only after all this will the airport become operational, the AAI source said.
However, a social activist, Suriyanarayanan N., said, “A four-lane road is the only permanent solution to reaching the airport since the temporary road now planned, on the fringes of the airport, will only ensure smooth-flow of traffic when the Anaicut road is closed for airport completion.”
“Already 70% of the land acquisition work, for the proposed four-lane highway, was complete. We expect all work to be completed in a short time and the project will be operational,” official sources revealed.
“The four-lane highway, when completed, will connect the Vellore-Tiruvannamalai road, thus enabling commuters reach Tiruvannamalai from the Chennai highway without entering Vellore town, the officials added.
