Newstrack

Kolkata airport modernisation faces 6-month delay

ETW staff - Kolkata

Work on the modernisation programme for Kolkata airport is being delayed by over six months following objections raised by the Planning Commission over its scale and size despite the fact that the project was cleared last year by the Committee on Infrastructure (CoI) headed by the Prime Minister himself.

The ministry had entrusted Airports Authority of India (AAI) with the job to monitor the modernisation work of Kolkata airport, to be implemented on a turnkey basis by a private partner. Praful Patel, the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, in a recent letter to Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, remarked, "The modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports is being delayed due to constant objections raised by the Planning Commission about their scale and size we planned to construct." Given the fast approaching 2010 deadline for the completion of the first phase of modernisation work of the Kolkata airport, Patel had a reason to write the letter.

He is quoted to have said that the ministry wants to build a world-class airport in Kolkata and that such projects should be decided keeping in mind needs for the next 10-20 years. The modernisation work should have started in January this year. Apparently, the ministry wants to create a massive integrated terminal at Kolkata. It also plans to vacate and close down the existing international terminal in the second phase of modernisation. The domestic terminal will continue to be used and its front elevation, sources said, will be re-developed. In phase III, the domestic terminal will be replaced with a new structure.

An AAI official mentioned that it had received all necessary clearances for the project and had already started the tendering process but was unable to award them and start work on the airport's modernisation pending approval from the Union Government. Insiders reveal that the issue will be sorted out with the Planning Commission shortly and work on phase I of the Kolkata airport project is likely to begin by July this year.