The New Delhi Municipal Council will soon begin work on developing a temporary park-and-ride facility for over 9,000 vehicles at the Safdarjung Airport to tide over projected parking problems during Commonwealth Games.

Through a dedicated route, the airport will be directly connected to Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, officials said.

A proposal to this effect was granted administrative approval at a meeting of the civic body last week. According to officials, the Rs 40-crore project was also approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The plan, to be implemented in consultation with the Airports Authority of India, mainly involves developing a parking lot for 3,000 cars, 6,000 two-wheelers, and 450 buses, besides laying new roads within the airport premises.

Once the project is completed, people will be able to park their vehicles at Connaught place, Safdarjung aerodrome, Vivek Vihar and Lodhi Road, among other places.

“The aerodrome will be used to park VIP vehicles, vehicles belonging to members of the Games organising committee and athletes’ buses, among others,” an official said.

Considering security issues related to the Games, NDMC will also install closed-circuit television cameras across the 1,70,000 square metres of the parking area.

According to sources, the Delhi government has approved the cost of the project but is yet to release funds to NDMC. The civic body, however, has decided to begin work in “anticipation of the release of funds” since there’s very little time left for executing the project, an official said.

Besides providing parking facilities, the civic body will also take up work related to widening and resurfacing of several nearby roads and improvement of walkways, according to officials. Roads around the airport — like Nazaf Khan Road and airport service roads on both sides of the Safdarjung flyover — will also be widened by the civic body.

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