The National Coordination Committee of the Cabinet has rejected the IGI Airport developer’s demand for issuing work visas to more than 140 workers from China to fix a glass wall imported from the country, highly placed sources in the Cabinet have told Newsline.

The city airport’s developer, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), wanted temporary work visas for another 144 skilled and semi-skilled workers from China. Sources said 56 such workers are already working on the project at the airport, having been issued working visas.

The demand was shot down at a Cabinet meeting earlier this month, sources said, not citing any particular reason for the move.

DIAL had given the contract for putting up the glass wall to Yuanda Aluminum Industry Engineering Company Limited, China, through a global bidding process for the supply and installation of the equipment. DIAL spokesperson Arun Arora said the airport developer is now making arrangements to carry on with the work without the requisite manpower from China.

“The consignment of the required glass panel has reached the site at IGI Airport,” Arora said. “The Indian workers are already fixing glass panels but they have limited exposure in a job of such complexity and scale.”

The glass curtain is to be erected at the under-construction integrated terminal T3 of the IGI Airport, scheduled to open before the Commonwealth Games next October.

But with the Cabinet having shot down its request for work visas to all 200 Chinese workers, DIAL says it will have to make do with only the 56 professionals.

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