Bengal asks AAI to go ahead with upgrade plan

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 2: Moving along with the CPI(M)’s official stand on the privatisation of Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, the chief secretary of West Bengal has written to Civil Aviation Secretary Ajay Prasad saying the state Government wants the Airports Authority of India to go ahead with the implementation of the project.

The letter, released by CPI(M) MP Sitaram Yechury, who is also chairman of the standing committee on civil aviation, says the modernisation would be undertaken by AAI from its own resources and the state government would “not favour the induction of any private company in the project”. The AAI has already picked the airport design prepared by French firm Aeroports de Paris.

The letter, written on Monday by state chief secretary A.K. Deb, advises the Civil Aviation Ministry to keep in mind the “stand of the state government” while implementing the project. The ministry has a practice of consulting state governments on airport modernisation. The Left has been backing the AAI in the modernisation projects — they also want the Chennai airport modernisation to be given to AAI — and has told its chairman to take up the Kolkata airport project “as a challenge” and complete it before the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

The Bengal official’s letter says AAI had made a presentation in Kolkata on July 10 and the development cost till 2010 — the airport has to be ready for the Commonwealth Games — would be Rs 2,087 crore. This would include upgrade of the international, domestic and cargo terminals, airside facilities, construction of flyover and approach road as well as a parallel runway.

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