Sunday, February 28, 2010

Sriperumbudur airport may not take off

Sriperumbudur airport may not take off:


CHENNAI: The much-expected second airport at Sriperumbudur may not take off as both the Centre and the state government are preparing to shelve the project. Even as the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has undertaken a techno-economic feasibility study of the project, a senior official in the Union civil aviation ministry said that the government is convinced that there is no urgent need for a second airport in the city, as the existing airport at Meenambakkam is being expanded.

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is spending Rs 3,800 crore on the expansion works including construction of a new terminal and laying of a secondary runway, which are expected to be completed by April 2011. Confirming the development, sources in the state government pointed out that many major cities across the world were operating with one airport and the present air traffic in the city could not justify a second airport. As per the condition for setting up the second airport, the state government has to acquire about 5,000 acres of land and hand it over to the AAI free of cost.

"It may entail expenditure between Rs 2,500 and Rs 5,000 crore which the state government may not be ready to shell out," the sources added. The officials also argued that if private operators had to be brought in, the existing airport should be closed down as in the case of Bangalore and Hyderabad. Having spent more than Rs 3,000 crore on the expansion works of the present airport, it would not be a prudent move to close it down, they said.

The existing Chennai airport handles about 350 aircraft movements a day, which will go up to 450 a day once the expansion works are completed. "This should be sufficient to handle the growing demands for up to 2015," said a AAI official. Moreover, it would not be possible to keep two airports operational, given the traffic projections; and the additional expenditure on a mass rapid rail link between the two airports could not be justified, the officials added.

The proximity of the two airports has also gone against the proposed airport at Sriperumbudur. While internationally accepted norms say that there should be a minimum distance of 150 nautical miles between two airports, the two in Chennai are hardly 20 nautical miles apart.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Sriperumbudur-airport-may-not-take-off/articleshow/5622087.cms

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Times of India 07-Feb-2010

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Daily/Skins/TOI/navigator.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true

AAI chief sore over defence land issue

AAI chief sore over defence land issue

CHENNAI: Even as rest of the Chennai Airport sees a facelift, the issue of the defence land in which a part of the terminal expansion plan is based, remains unsettled for more than six months now.

Airports Authority of India’s chairman V P Agrawal who was in the city on Saturday showed exasperation as he revealed that the issue of defence land takeover remained unresolved. “I just want to tell them t don’t block my project. We’ve created infrastructure for them and still they refuse to budge from their stand. They (defence people) have already demonstrated that they are a stronger force. I accept that they are the big boss but why stop my work (airport expansion project)?

AAI had entered the defence property next to the international terminal in February 2009 for putting up structures there. The defence authorities had earlier agreed to the AAI proposal to construct a new communication building for the defence with signal transmitters in return for the existing structure at Pallavaram. While AAI kept its part of the deal and finished the work by May 2009, defence personnel stopped construction on the site.

“The home minister has spoken to the defence minister and the latter agreed. Even the state chief minister has taken up the matter but nothing has happened so far. I have given them ten times more than what they are giving us for expansion but they want the moon,’’ Agrawal said.


http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=AAI+chief+sore+over+defence+land+issue&artid=dsIc18WJ/5E=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&SEO=&SectionName=rSY%7C6QYp3kQ=