Chennai: Airport terminals to be reconstructed

Chennai: A plan is underway for the demolition of Kamaraj Domestic Terminal and Anna International Terminal, which would be merged and reconstructed seamlessly in the same structure on two levels, said airport director Deepak Shastri on Saturday.

“The plan is underway, and we are in the final stages of awarding the contract to a foreign consultancy,” he told Deccan Chronicle.

He added that the work on the plan has started this year and phase 2 is expected to be over by 2020. He added that though in most of the major Indian cities, airports have been maintained on a PPP basis, Chennai airport is still being managed by the Airports Authorities of India (AII), and due to several issues, the work for remodeling of the airport faced many hassles. The Airport Director at Chennai was among the panelists on a discussion on Connectivity and Transportation, as part of the CII Conference on Chennai Infra — Transforming Chennai.

AAI began estimating and planning integration of Airport with various means of transport like Metro rail, trains, and buses in October 2015. “We will also be providing walkalators from the Metro station to the airport terminals. Also, providing seamless underground connectivity from Thirusulam station to the airport is being mulled,” Shastri said.

For these, the plan is ready and tenders have been floated, he added.
Speaking about the measures taken to prevent inundation of runways, similar to what led to a failed aviation network during the rains of 2015, he added that in alliance with IIT Madras, a drone-based survey has been done earlier this year from Chembarambakkam reservoir to Thirusulam to identify the low-lying areas in between.

“The study has been carried out and the results are being studied by the team at IITM. They have been given a period of six months to come up with a conclusion,” he said. Based on the results, more drains and structures to drain away excess water will be constructed.