CHENNAI: The Airport Authority of India (AAI) is planning to build a new air traffic control complex so that the space of the existing one can be used to construct more parking bays for planes at the Chennai Airport. The move is a part of a series of work proposed to augment aircraft handling capacity to match the proposed increase in passenger capacity when terminal expansion is completed.
The integrated terminal, which will be opened next year along with the new building in place of the old international arrival terminal, will equip the airport to handle 30-35million passengers per year.
An AAI official said that the plan to have a new ATC complex is underway. A new location will be identified, most probably in the space being cleared by removing a portion of the residential colony of the authority. “A new residential complex is being built on the opposite side of the GST road and the space freed up in the existing colony can be used to build the new ATC,” he added. There are also plans to move the fuel station to a location adjacent to the second runway where a bigger fuel farm is being planned. This will free up space from the air side of the domestic terminal to the Meenambakkam village.
