Levelling of ground for runway commmences at Vellore airport

According to AAI regional executive director S Sreekumar, the work estimated to cost Rs 15 crore includes both the runway work and the construction of the waiting area for passengers.

Talking to DTNext over the phone, Sreekumar said, “The runway is elevated at one end and low at the other. We plan to increase the height of the lower end by around 2.5 metres to make it level.”

Stating that the work would take nearly a year to complete, he said that plans to increase the length of the runway, presently at 850 metres, by another 200 metres was shelved due to land acquisition issues.

“As such the existing runway is more than enough for the 20-seater aircraft which will be operated on the Chennai-Vellore-Bengaluru route,” Sreekumar said.

On the construction of the passenger waiting area and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower, he said, “As this is a small airport, we plan to have only one building spanning about 1,500 square metres with no additional floors. This will be more than enough to meet the demand.”

However, for the time being the contractor will take up only the runway work. 

“The Asanambut road has to be blocked and an approach road from the national highway to the airport has to be constructed. Until this is done, we will be unable to start work on the building,” Sreekumar added.