Land for Chennai airport expansion to be handed over soon

Land for Chennai airport expansion to be handed over soon

The first phase involves extending the secondary runway and building a second terminal. The project is being implemented by the AAI.

Chennai, July 10 The Tamil Nadu Government will hand over 130 acres of land near Chennai airport, to be used for the airport’s expansion, by the end of this month, the State’s Chief Secretary, Mr L.K. Tripathy, told Business Line.

He said the Government is also acquiring land for the second runway (which will be taken up in the second phase of the project.)

Mr Dinesh Kumar, Airport Director, Chennai airport, said that the Rs 1,800-crore project would be completed in 28 months. “We are ready with the tenders,” he said.

The first phase involves extending the secondary runway and building a second terminal. The project is being implemented by the Airports Authority of India.It is expected that upon completion, the airport would be able to handle 50 per cent more number of flights.
Today, it handles 350 flights a day, Mr Kumar said.

A second runway — parallel to the existing one — will come up in the second phase of the project. Phase-II will need 1,069 acres of land.

Mr Tripathy said there would be no issues in acquiring the required lands. The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition filed by a developer of residential colonies challenging the acquisition of lands for expansion of the airport. In doing this, the apex court upheld a decision of the Madras High Court.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/07/11/stories/2008071152210700.htm