Extended deadline nears, work at international airport in Halwara picks up pace

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, May 6

As the extended deadline is nearing, the work to construct the interim terminal building and undertake the remaining allied works at the upcoming international airport in Halwara, close to Ludhiana, has been further escalated, the government has said.

While the interim terminal building has reached the halfway mark, the overall progress of the project has achieved 35 per cent completion, officials have revealed.

The development assumes significance as June 30 was fixed as the fresh deadline for the completion of the Rs 47-crore project after missing two deadlines of January and June 2022 in the past.

A senior government functionary told The Tribune, here on Saturday, that the construction work of the project was divided into two parts — construction of internal roads, estate public health services and campus lighting in the interim airport terminal and construction of interim airport terminal building at Air Force Station in Halwara, which is one of the oldest frontline airbases of the Indian Air Force (IAF), close to Ludhiana.

While the first part was allotted on November 8, 2021, the second was awarded on December 9, 2021.

Both works were stopped by the agencies in April and May, 2022, due to non-payment of funds by GLADA.

The work had resumed on November 17 last after the state government had made available Rs 50-crore corpus for the project.

Divulging the current progress status, the functionary said the overall progress of the project had achieved 35 per cent mark while the interim terminal building had touched 45 per cent completion.

Among other components, the substation was 38 per cent complete, toilet block 55 per cent, apron 20 per cent, taxi-way 15 per cent, while internal roads, lighting, and public health works had reached 15 per cent completion.

“The remaining work to build the new international airport has been taken up on a war-footing and all stops have been pulled to complete the ambitious project at the earliest,” the officer said.

He said the flight operations from the new terminal building had been targeted to begin any time before June 30 before which the new international airport would be made operational by completing the construction work and finalising the statutory compliances for the operational purposes.

“The Civil Aviation Department has begun the process to launch the flight operations by the time the new airport comes up,” the functionary said while asserting that both terminal building and internal roads will be built before June 30.

Of the total allocation of Rs 50 crore by the state government, a sum of Rs 12.5 crore had already been transferred while the total requirement estimated so far was of Rs 45 crore.

For this purpose, the Finance Department (FD) has released a sum of Rs 30 crore while the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) through the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) has undertaken to bear the expenditure of Rs 20 crore.

Reviewing the project, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had recently visited the site and had directed the officers concerned to complete the ongoing work within three months. “We have put the work on a fast- track mode and no delay will be tolerated at any cost,” the CM asserted while adding that there was no dearth of funds.

Assembly proposes name

The Punjab Vidhan Sabha had recently unanimously adopted a resolution to request the Centre to name the airport after Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha.

Moving the resolution during the Budget session, the Chief Minister had said it would be a humble tribute to the martyr who laid down his life for the motherland. He had said the martyr had been an inspiration for young generations.

Pushing for flights: MP

“The ongoing work to build a new international airport in Halwara has been taken up on topmost priority. Our government has pulled all stops to make it operational by mid of the year as enough funds have been provided and all support has been extended to complete the ongoing work within minimum possible time. I have also reached out to the major airlines to prepare their schedule for launching flights from here as soon as the airport gets ready.” – Sanjeev Arora, Rajya Sabha MP

Turn of events

April 11: Work for allied works allotted

Nov 17, 2022: Work resumes

Nov 9, 2022: Punjab Government decides to take up the project and release Rs 50 crore for balance work.

May 2022: Punjab Government approached AAI to bear the cost of balance work after GLADA failed to release funds

March 2022: Both contractors stopped work for want of payments

Dec 9, 2021: Work awarded to construct interim airport terminal at Rs 2,272.5-lakh

Nov 8, 2021: Work of internal roads and allied infrastructure awarded at Rs 1,604.15-lakh

Oct 26, 2021: Punjab Civil Aviation Secretary issued administrative approval for release of Rs 4,290.42 lakh through GLADA

Oct 22, 2021: AAI accorded formal nod to construct new interim terminal building at Rs 4,691.12-lakh

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Tribune News Service

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