Chennai: The state government didn't allocate sufficient land for a new 'greenfield corridor,' because of which the present airport will be developed into an eco-friendly one, said airport director, Airports Authority of India (Chennai), G. Chandramouli to mediapersons on Friday.
A proposal from the Central government was submitted but the state government gave very less space, the director said, adding “farmers and locals in Sriperumbudur protested too. The media has been reporting an alternative choice of location as Madhuranthakam or Seiyur, but we have received no official information.”
An event organised to inaugurate the conversion of the arrival terminal T4 into a departure terminal also saw the director inform the press about the various developmental proje-cts being undertaken at the airport. The terminal has been lying empty and unused and instead of constructing a new one, the AAI has decided to use it as a new departure terminal, Chandramouli said. “For this, over 20 counters for check-ins and immigration are being made and it will be done in a month,” he added.
A new terminal with parking bays for aircraft and a multi-level car parking facility will be set up at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore under phase II of the Chennai airport modernisation programme, Chandramouli said. The entry costs for vehicles dropping off passengers at the departure terminal will also be reduced, he said. “For the first 30 minutes, the cost will only be '50 for private vehicles. For yellow board taxis, it will be Rs 60.” The current cost of entry is Rs 150.
Chandramouli said passenger traffic has witnessed a 20 per cent growth in the last three months and if this trend continued, the existing terminal would not be able to handle it. “We are going to develop a new terminal at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore and it will be ready in 42-45 months. The new terminal, coming up under the Phase II modernisation programme, will be able to handle the increase in arrivals and departures, he said.
With regard to the issue of glasses breaking in the airport, an official said that a special team from IIT-Madras studied the airport and concluded that some gases forming around the glass within the airport were the reason. “In 2014, there were a total of 9 incidents of breaking. In this year, there has only been 2,” he said, adding that the new terminal will not have any of these issues as modern techniques are being used to construct it.
The director, however, requested the government to allow at least 30 acres for airport security and not expansion. “We need some more space for the runways and also a separate space for filling fuel on planes, away from the bays,” he said. The number of bays will also be increased from 86 to 126 soon, he added.
