Land to be sought from Air Force for airport expansion

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 4

Rajya Sabha MP Shwait Malik, member of the Consultative Parliamentary Committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, has assured to take up the demand of securing 17.7 acres of land of Air Force for expansion of Sri Guru Ram Das Jee International (SGRDJI) Airport. He said it after holding a meeting with officials of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) on Monday.

He said he would table the plan to almost double the present capacity of handling 40 lakh passengers of the airport before the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The airport is spread over 976 acres but the Air Force controls about 360 acres in four pockets.

Airport Director Manoj Chansoriya said the Air Force had occupied the land in four pockets. “We need only that piece of land which is next to the terminal building,” he said.

Elaborating on the available facilities, he said the airport was a CAT-8 in fire fighting category. As far as the apron is concerned, it has 14 main bays and one cargo bay. In navigation, it has ILS CAT III B and its surveillance is managed by he state-of-the-art mono pulse radar.

Passenger amenities include baby stroller, tactile path for visually impaired, eco-friendly dual dustbins, sanitary napkin vending machine, self check-in kiosks.

At the cost of Rs 63 crore, CAT-III B work was completed, and two more aerobridges, costing Rs 4 crore, will be completed soon.

Interior work at for Rs 18.60 crore on the first floor of terminal building is under progress. It is likely to be completed by January 1, 2019. It will provide international shopping and cuisine experience to passengers.

As many as 10 numbers of parking bays, are being constructed at a cost of Rs 47.54 crore and will be completed in November 2019.

Provision for installing 170 metre canopy on the city side of the terminal building to provide shelter to general public and waiting relatives of passengers, modification of drainage system in the city side area, expansion of cargo building to include domestic cargo terminal, replacement of vitrified flooring in terminal building, rehabilitation of IAF structures, construction of five star and three star hotels with food court in the city side section of the airport and 300 quarters for BSF personnel would be ready soon.