Aerocity: 6 years and counting

It has been six years since the Central government approved construction of the ‘Aerocity’,at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). Despite several review meetings and suggestions for adequate security apparatus,the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Aviation continue to be at loggerheads,while construction continues undeterred even in the face of uncertainty.

However,sources in the government maintained that clearances would roll out shortly. A senior official said,“A meeting will be held at the Cabinet Secretariat the coming week,where the recommendations put forth by the committee,which recently went abroad,will be discussed and finalised. The hotels will,accordingly,be asked to incorporate the final recommendations,subsequent to which clearance will be given.”

The 43-acre project — owned by Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and comprising 12 hotels with 5,400 rooms — was initially approved in 2007 and was to be ready in time for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

While DIAL and the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) cleared the sanctions,the project was first red-flagged by the Delhi Police in 2011,citing concerns over how Aerocity was just a stone’s throw away from the main runways of the IGIA. Barely 200 metres from the runway,the Delhi Police said the project was too close to the hangars of the Aviation Research Center of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) and that it would be easy for terror groups to target airplanes from those hotels.

At present,three hotels with 802 rooms are ready,while another 523 rooms are almost complete. Work on approximately 3,750 rooms in 12 hotels is underway. Several hotels fret about losses,amounting to several lakhs every day,with hotel authorities claiming that they were not informed of these roadblocks and clearances.

The Delhi Police and other security agencies also asserted that they were not kept in the loop when sanctions for construction were given.

So far,the main problem highlighted by security agencies is the runway being in direct line of sight from at least four of the 12 hotels — MGM,Novotel-Pullman,Hyatt and J W Marriott.

Delhi Commissioner of Police Neeraj Kumar recently said,“We have never faced such a situation before,so dealing with it would take its own time. Even though we have asked hotels to make changes,we are not sure if they can still be allowed to open to public.”

Lemon Tree Premier and Red Fox hotels have been waiting to open since December last year. The Ibis,which does not face the runway,has been ready for over a month. The InterGlobe Enterprises has invested

Rs 1,200 crore to build three airport hotels under Accor brands Ibis,Novotel and Pullman.

Other hotels at the site include Andaz by Hyatt Hotels Corp,Aloft by Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide,Holiday Inn by InterContinental Hotels Group and a Dusit D2 hotel.

In a statement issued recently,DIAL said. “On January 22,the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued guidelines on security to be followed by entities in the hospitality area. DIAL briefed all developers on the guidelines.” “While we will continue to assist the developers to coordinate with BCAS,the prime responsibility of obtaining clearances rests with individual developers and not DIAL,” a spokesperson said.

Sources said security agencies had objected to windows facing the runway. However,the Ministry of Civil Aviation had turned the suggestion down saying that it would deprive the guests of a good view.

Sources said owing to the standoff,the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had asked the Ministry of Civil Aviation to stop work and first address the security concerns. However,the Ministry of Civil Aviation had said stopping work would result in losses and had requested the MHA to provide security plans.

In May,a team comprising an Intelligence Bureau official,an R&AW official,a Civil Aviation Ministry official of joint secretary rank,officials from the BCAS,Delhi Police and the CISF visited the airports of Chicago,Dallas and Amsterdam to review their security models. The team has submitted its report to the Ministry of Home Affairs,and it is up for review later this month.

In March too,a team had visited Amsterdam and San Diego airports to examine how these cities handled “city-side security” in their airports. They had said the San Diego airport maintained extra vigil on the city side and had a very advanced system in place to detect perimeter intrusion.

“The perimeter intrusion detection system in Delhi airport is not even half as effective,” an official had said.