Airport expansion plan revised owing to funds crunch

CHENNAI: A few facilities that were included in the mega project for development of the Chennai airport have now been kept in abeyance owing to paucity of funds.

A senior Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said installation of a travellator under the flyover, which was to come up in front of the terminal building, and information technology-related works inside the new terminal buildings had been put on hold.

The work on travellator connecting the international terminal to the domestic terminal and in the reverse direction was planned for nearly 1.5 km originally. For installing 100 metres of travellator it would cost Rs.5 crore. By postponing the installation of the travellator, AAI could save up to Rs.150 crore, the officer said.

As for the IT-related works such as the installation of public address system, flight arrival departure information boards and a few other facilities, the AAI had cut costs to the tune of Rs.100 crore.

The multi-level car parking system, which was also part of the mega project, was now being developed under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The official said under the PPP system the AAI need not invest money immediately for implementing the project. This would help the organisation save up to Rs.80 crore. The IT requirements would also be implemented after cutting costs.