Civil work is under way at Abdullapuram, site of the proposed Vellore airport.
With the Airports Authority of India making efforts to complete the task, it was believed that the State Highways department’s delay in handing over land required for connecting runway to the terminal building will delay the project. The revised deadline for the project was June 2019 but the State officials pleaded their helplessness in handing over the land in the wake of the Lok Sabha elections.
Vellore Airport was sanctioned under the second phase regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of UDAN, but the Union Government is finalising work to be completed under UDAN 3. According to AAI officials, the terminal building on Asanambut Road was nearing completion. Besides Vellore, Thanjavur was chosen in Tamil Nadu under phase II of UDAN for the operation of domestic flights with ATR aircraft.
According to the residents, who take the road regularly, the construction work slowed down. This was because the State Highway Department delayed handing over land to Airports Authority of India to complete the perimeter road estimated to cost of ₹1.30 crore. Officials said the Asanambut Road, from the Chennai-Bengaluru National Highway, bifurcates the terminal and runways.
Runway work
However, Asanambut Road should be closed only after the work for the road on the airport’s perimeter was completed. The runway work that includes the expansion of 850 metres to accommodate 20 seater aircraft was over. The runway work will be completed only after the Asanambut Road is closed.
AAI sources said they had been pursuing the issue with the officials of the highways department. They had apprised the Transport Secretary in February of the status of runway-terminal connectivity, said an official. State Highways department sources said “If they allot land, we will realign the road to connect places like Puthur, Karadikudi and Guurvarajapalayam apart from Anaicut town.”
