Mohali airport: A year later, work on ground still to take off

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, requisite land was acquired, compensation paid, and the acquired land was handed over to the Centre but work to construct the civil airport terminal complex is yet to take off.

According to T Premnath, General Manager (PR), Airports Authority of India (AAI), the project will be a joint venture. However, a Joint Venture Company (JVC) has not yet been constituted to undertake the construction work, he said.

Neither has a boundary wall been constructed nor has the land been leveled. In the absence of any development activity on the land adjoining the domestic airport at Chandigarh, a part of the acquired land in Jheourheri village has been brought under cultivation.

A visit to the site revealed that the Jheourheri villagers, who gave their land for the airport project at Rs 1.5 crore per acre, continue with uninterrupted access to the acquired land. “As no work has begun, several villagers are still cultivating the land,” said Dharam Singh, a villager.

Sadhu Singh, another villager, added: “Our lands were acquired and compensation was paid in record time. But after that, no work was initiated on the site.”

As per the initial agreement, it was decided that the AAI will bear the estimated expenditure of Rs 80 crore on the construction of the international terminal building.

This would cater to 700 passengers, with four passenger-boarding bridges.

It was understood that the work would begin soon after the Punjab government handed over requisite land, free of cost.

But T Premnath says that the project cost has not been finalised. Also, it has not been decided when will the work begin or be completed.

“The building plan is at the draft stage. The project is being taken up as a joint venture with 51 per cent equity of AAI and 24.5 per cent shared by Punjab and Haryana,” Premnath pointed out.

“The timeframe when the proposed new international airport complex will become operational cannot be specified at this stage,” he added.

The AAI authorities had specified that no new runway would be constructed at the international airport.

The only existing runway, owned by the Indian Air Force, would continue to be used for taking off and landing of the international flights as well.

“Infrastructure like a parallel taxi track, apron, terminal building, navigational aids and city side developments are planned,” said the AAI official.

The project had taken off on January 4 when the AAI, Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Haryana had signed an MoU. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel had laid the foundation stone of the new integrated terminal building complex at Chandigarh domestic airport.

The Chandigarh airport, which would be upgraded to an international airport, belongs to the Indian Air Force.