Kolkata airport to be modernised

Our Economy Bureau
04 July 2005

Kolkata: The Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata will soon become a major airport with a world-class terminal, latest navigation and communication aids and an extended secondary runway.

A modernisation plan has been undertaken by a well-known French company to give the airport a state-of-the-art look as part of a plan to upgrade the civil aviation infrastructure in the country.

The French company, which has been approached to prepare the design, has developed a number of leading airports around the world, including the De Gaulle airport in Paris.

Civil aviation minister Praful Patel said the new design for the airport was ready and work on modernisation should start by early 2006.

According to Airports Authority of India officials a plan has also been taken up to extend the secondary runway of the airport to facilitate landing and take-off of bigger aircraft like Boeing 747s.