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Kolkata airport upgrade to be completed by May 2011
Thursday, 25 December 2008, 18:04 IST
Kolkata: The modernization work of the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport here will be completed by May 2011, a senior official familiar with the project said.
Civil aviation minister Praful Patel will lay the foundation stone for the modernization work Dec 29.
"The preparatory work of the project has already been started, four to five rigs have been brought for the work. It is scheduled to get completed within 30 months from the date of start," the official told IANS from New Delhi.
ITD Cem, which was awarded the modernization project in October, started work in NOvember.
ITD Cem, an Indian subsidiary of Italian-Thai Development, is a leading construction company, with over seven decades' presence in India.
"The total project will cost around 
1,602 crore (16.02 billion)," the official said.
The upgrade will raise the airport's passenger handling capacity to around 20 million annually from the present 4.9 million that comprises 882,000 passengers at the international terminal, and 4.06 million travellers at the domestic terminal.
Modernization would include extension of the second runway, construction of rapid exit taxiways, installation of navigation and surveillance systems, and setting up a new integrated terminal building.
After the modernization, both runways will be long enough to allow operation of the world's biggest passenger aircraft, the A380.
Following the modernization plans of Mumbai and Delhi airports, Kolkata airport was supposed to be upgraded in a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. Patel had to shelve the PPP plan after stiff opposition from the Left parties.
The modernization work is now being done on a cash contract basis.
Delhi and Mumbai airport modernization works are done by private companies like GMR and GVK respectively.
Source: IANS
1,602 crore (16.02 billion)," the official said.
The upgrade will raise the airport's passenger handling capacity to around 20 million annually from the present 4.9 million that comprises 882,000 passengers at the international terminal, and 4.06 million travellers at the domestic terminal.
Modernization would include extension of the second runway, construction of rapid exit taxiways, installation of navigation and surveillance systems, and setting up a new integrated terminal building.
After the modernization, both runways will be long enough to allow operation of the world's biggest passenger aircraft, the A380.
Following the modernization plans of Mumbai and Delhi airports, Kolkata airport was supposed to be upgraded in a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis. Patel had to shelve the PPP plan after stiff opposition from the Left parties.
The modernization work is now being done on a cash contract basis.
Delhi and Mumbai airport modernization works are done by private companies like GMR and GVK respectively.
Source: IANS