Aurangabad airport to get international edge

AURANGABAD: If things go as planned by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), the ongoing upgrade of the Aurangabad airport will not only increase tourist traffic to the city, but will also open up doors for better commercial network with the rest of the world.

The revamp of the airport, when completed, will allow wide-bodied aircrafts run by chartered flight operators to land at the airport.

The AAI sources told DNA on Monday that the proposed development project includes construction of new passenger terminal and ancillary facilities, and construction of a new, wider apron beside two-way taxi tracks.

Civil aviation minister Prafulla Patel, who had laid the foundation of this project in January 2006, had promised it would be completed within a span of one year. However, it may still take six more months for the project to get over.

The sources added that Aurangabad directs tourist inflow to Ajanta and Ellora caves and other places of tourist interest in the vicinity. It is also an industrial base and is rapidly growing as an important commercial hub. As a thrust to all-round economic development, this airport will facilitate better air connectivity and faster mode of transportation.

In the first phase of development, aided financially by Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC), included extension and strengthening of the runway, a taxi-track, the boundary wall and modification of existing terminal and other facilities. Work undertaken during the first phase has already been completed, the officials said.

The second phase, estimated to cost Rs99.67 crore, has received financial aid of Rs60 crore from the JBIC. The AAI will generate the remaining Rs39.67 crore from internal resources, they added.

The proposed terminal will be a glass and steel building with passenger-friendly facilities like central air-conditioning, escalators, passenger lifts, public address system, in-line baggage handling system, aerobridges, CCTVs and modern amenities at par with international standards, the sources said.

A new technical block-cum-control tower, about 30 mts high, has also been proposed. The total floor area of the tower is 620 sq mt. This block will house operational and technical equipment and air traffic management staff.

The sources said the present length of runway at the airport is 7,500 ft, which can handle AB-320 class of aircrafts. However, the length of the runway is proposed to be increased to 9,000 ft, which will also facilitate heavy planes of international standards.