The final leg of the Chennai Metro Rail project between Trident Hotel point and Chennai airport has been cleared by a high-level committee of the civil aviation sector at a meeting held in New Delhi on Monday.
The committee comprised officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and representatives from airlines in Chennai.
At the meeting, the safety assessment of the CMRL line passing from the airport to the hotel point was cleared, airport sources said.
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As per the plan, Metro Rail will be on the surface level between the Trident Hotel point and the old airport.
The vicinity of the hotel falls in the approach funnel for aircraft. The surface stretch will run along the perimeter wall of the airport. From Madras Flying Club inside the airport premises, the line will be on an elevated structure.
The Metro station at the airport will be constructed at a cost of Rs 50 crore. Construction has been entrusted to the AAI as ‘deposit work' on behalf of the CMRL so that design and architecture of the Metro gels with the airport design.
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A connecting tube with a travelator will be installed between the airport corridor and the Metro Rail station, the sources said. The AAI had agreed to allot 89,114 square metres of land to the CMRL for pier foundation and the Metro station. It had also agreed to provide 17,613 sq.m of land for a viaduct.
Land allotments were made for a lease period of 30 years on payment of rent of one rupee per annum. In case the CMRL used pillars on the leased land for commercial purposes such as advertisement, revenue from it should be shared between the CMRL and the AAI in the ratio of 50:50.
The AAI had also accorded temporary permission to the CMRL to use 5,114 sq.m of its land for stacking materials during the construction period. On completion of the project, the CMRL should vacate the area immediately, the AAI said.
The Chennai airport is the second in the country to have Metro Rail connectivity after the Indira Gandhi International airport in New Delhi.