Thursday, May 22, 2008

Plan panel pulled up for Chennai airport modernisation delay Months

Plan panel pulled up for Chennai airport modernisation delay
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Parliament’s standing committee on transport and tourism has held the Planning Commission responsible for the delay in upgradation of the Kolkata and Chennai airports, and introducing backroom privatisation. The civil aviation ministry was asked to explain why it allowed the delay to continue. The parliamentary panel, headed by CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, blamed the Planning Commission for rejecting an agreement prepared by Airports Authority of India, according to which modernisation of Delhi airport would have been done in 48 months. It called officials of the plan panel, aviation ministry and AAI on Thursday to discuss modernisation of Kolkata, Chennai and 25 non-metro airports. It said the mess in Delhi airport was because the private company had started exploiting the airport commercially without providing facilities for passengers.

Airport development hangs fire

New Delhi: The parliamentary panel, headed by CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, expressed its displeasure over the delay in the modernisation of Chennai and Kolkata airports. Sources said the Planning Commission faced the brunt of the parliamentary panel’s displeasure. A member said the committee on infrastructure, headed by the Prime Minister, had decided more than two years ago that the Kolkata and Chennai airports would be modernised by the AAI. Airside modernisation was to be done by the AAI while the cityside was to be modernised through PPP route. The commission brought terminal modernisation to the PPP mode. It has prepared a concession agreement for Kolkata airport, where not only the cityside but even the terminal building, would be leased out to the private sector for 30 years.” TNN

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