Secondary runway to be open by mid-April: AAI

CHENNAI: A long-awaited secondary runway at the Meenambakkam Airport  will be operational by mid-April, confirmed Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman V P Agrawal.Speaking to reporters after an inspection of the  expansion work at the Chennai Airport, Agrawal said 8,000 ft of the 10,000 ft runway will be available for use in the next few months. The height of some buildings need to be reduced and a little acquisition work remained, he informed. This is expected to provide emergency runway options, in case of the damage to the primary runway or important flights. He also said that the work on the new terminals was progressing well and that they were expecting power connections to be active by month-end.“If the connections are sanctioned and implemented on time, then a period of checking will begin at the domestic terminal first,” he said. After the testing begins, 45 days will be needed to run diagnostics and ensure that all the systems are in place, before it might be opened for commercial use, he added.The commissioning of the new international terminal, which is also being worked upon simultaneously,  will follow after the domestic terminal is opened, he said. This is in line with the expected date of inauguration during the months of April-May, later this year.The project was initially scheduled to be completed late last year, before it was hit by inordinate delays and staff strikes. Even though there has been no confirmation on the status of the proposed second airport at Sriperumbudur, Agrawal confirmed reports that if the project were sanctioned, AAI would handle the initial set up, terminal, runway and infrastructure. “We have suggested that the second airport be commissioned as a joint venture by AAI and state government,” he said. “If it is sanctioned, then AAI will possibly look at operating this second airport for 8-10 years before diluting the stake,” he added. He also said that as initially planned in 2008, the capacity of the airport was likely to be 5 million passengers. This ‘greenfield’ airport will most likely handle the spill-over traffic and international flights, he said. Reports suggested that the estimated cost of the project is `6,000 crore.