Model airport plan a damp squib

NEW DELHI, AUG 5: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA)'s ambitious project to develop 12 selected airports as model airports has failed mis...

NEW DELHI, AUG 5: The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA)’s ambitious project to develop 12 selected airports as model airports has failed miserably, with substantial time over-run and cost escalation.

While Phase-I of the project was to be completed by March 31, 1995, the upgradation works have been completed at only six airports – with only the Coimbatore airport meeting the work schedule. The remaining six have become a victim of bureaucratic apathy and inefficiency, resulting in a delay of about two-and-a-half years. While estimates are not available for Phase-II of the project, it is clear that these will also suffer since Phase-I has been delayed.

Ministry sources said the cost of the “Model Airports Project” (MAP) was expected to go up to Rs 430 crore from the estimated Rs 350 crore. However, revised estimates for the civil work (Phase-I) reveal that the cost had shot up by about 35 per cent to Rs 160 crore from the estimated Rs 117 crore.

Story continues below this ad

The project envisaged improvement of terminal buildings, air-conditioned departure, better passenger amenities and space for immigration and customs counters at airports in Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Jaipur, Vadodara, Indore, Nagpur, Patna, Calicut, Imphal and Coimbatore (Phase-I). Later, the authorities were to improve communication and navigational aids and provide standard runway length of 7,500 feet at airports at these airports (Phase-II).

The cost of the civil work may go up further as the upgradation work at Bhubhneswar, Guwahati, Indore, Imphal, Patna and Hyderabad is yet to be completed. The delay has upset the state governments, who have asked for immediate action to speed up the project work. In fact, the Assam and Orissa governments recently asked the Airports Authority of India (AAI) the reasons for the delay in upgradation of Guwahati and Bhubaneswar airports.

While the terminal building work at the Indore airport is more or less complete, the cost-escalation of Rs 20.69 crore at the Hyderabad airport — assigned to the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on April 26, 1993 with a completion schedule of January, 1995 — has been a cause of worry for the airport authorities.