Chennai airport expansion to be completed by 2010

Chennai, Apr 9 (UNI) The modernisation and expansion of the Chennai airport, involving an investment of Rs 1,800 crore, would be completed by 2010, Tamil Nadu Transport Minister K N Nehru announced in the State Assembly today.

Moving the demand for grants for his department, he said the modernisation and expansion of the airport had been taken up in coordination with the Centre and work to acquire 1,069.99 acres of land for the purpose was being undertaken.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), undertaking the modernisation programme, had proposed to spend about Rs 1,800 crore on this, Mr Nehru said.

In the recent past, Chennai had grown as a hub for foreign direct investment and large number of foreign investors like Ford, Hyundai, Nissan, Renault, BMW, Saint Gobain, Motorola, Nokia and Foxconn have made the city as their production base, the Minister said.

Tamil Nadu had also become an important destination for foreign tourists and in recent years, Chennai airport had recorded significant growth in both passenger and cargo traffic. Keeping all these in mind, the government had decided to go in for modernisation and expansion, he said.

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