New ATC tower poised for take off as AAI grants NOC

Airports Authority of India (AAI), New Delhi, has issued a no-objection certificate (NOC) for construction of an air traffic control tower-cum-technical block at the international airport here.

A technical team from the AAI is slated to inspect the site chosen for the new control tower, which will be designed in a manner to enable air traffic controllers have a 360 degree view.

A senior AAI official told The Hindu that the organisation had given the clearance for a height of 42.5 metres for the new project while granting the no-objection certificate.

With the clearance coming through, senior officials from AAI’s Directorate of Planning are expected to inspect the site for the new tower on Friday prior to finalisation of drawings.

The proposed field visit of the technical team is primarily to ascertain if the identified site interfered in any manner with the navigational aids.

The present Air Traffic Control Tower functions at the old terminal building.

The new tower forms part of a mega project sanctioned by AAI at Tiruchi. Construction of a new passenger terminal, adjoining the existing structure, and a new apron are already underway at a total cost of ₹950 crore. AAI will spend over ₹870 crore for construction of the terminal.

Civil works for construction of a new two-level modular integrated passenger terminal on a sprawling area of 61,000 sq mt is apace at the airport with the aim of completing it in three years as scheduled.

Simultaneously, foundation for the new apron to accommodate 10 flights at a time is also being carried out by ITD Cementation India, which is executing the mega project. The aim is to complete the new apron before completion of the new terminal.

The fast-growing airport, which has direct connectivity to Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Sharjah, with flights operated by different overseas airlines, handled over 11.66 lakh passengers (international and domestic) during April to December in the current fiscal