Modernization of Chennai and Kolkata airports to begin in September
16 Aug 2008
New Delhi: The government has cleared modernization plans of the Chennai and Kolkata airports at an estimated cost of over Rs3,750 crore. Modernization of the airports would be undertaken by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with the projects to be completed in a time span of three years.
Work is expected to begin in September this year.
While work at the Kolkata airport is expected to be complete within 30 months of awarding the contract, it is expected that work on the Chennai airport would take 26 months.
AAI is expected to generate 80 per cent of the required capital through internal resources and borrow the remaining 20 per cent.
While development work at the Kolkata airport would cost an estimated Rs1,942.51 crore, costs for the work to be done at Chennai is estimated to come in at Rs1,808 crore.
"The AAI can create these two airports into models and compete with the private sector to develop world-class airports. They can even compete in the international arena," civil aviation minister Praful Patel said after a meeting of the Cabinet committee on economic affairs.
