AAI Moves Ahead with Puducherry Airport Expansion, Begins Land Plan Process

Airport Authority of India (AAI) has set in motion for the next phase in extending Puducherry Airport, the process for appointing a consultant for the preparation of the Land Plan Schedule (LPS). This comes after the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey was completed, which mapped obstacles in the airspace of the airport with respect to the construction of the new runway.

About 402 acres of land will be needed for this project, i.e., 217 acres in the Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu, and 185 acres in Puducherry for the development of a new runway. The expansion will replace the present runway of 1,502 metres with one of 2,300 metres long and 45 metres wide, suitable for operation by wide-bodied aircraft.

On September 3, AAI’s Civil Engineering Division at Puducherry Airport invited bids from consultants to undertake survey-related works for the proposed land. The above scope included preparing all relevant records such as survey numbers, the extent of all land needed in each landscape, integration of village maps into a single layout, and colour marking of re-survey numbers. The selected consultant will also interact with revenue officials in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to obtain the official land records required for acquisition.

Earlier in May, a three-member team from AAI, New Delhi, carried out technical surveys for one week with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) equipment. This survey mapped the surrounding airspace and identified obstacles which could affect the safe operation of aircraft. Based on this AAI headquarters issued detailed OLS charts that guide the expansion work.

As per the sources, discussions at the administrative level are said to take place in Puducherry next week to further speed up the land acquisition process. Expansion of the airport would greatly enhance connectivity by allowing larger aircraft operations and by further upgrading the existing air infrastructure in the region.

Currently, the Puducherry Airport is cluttered with sporadic flight operations due to the unserviceable runway, but has been on the radar for expansion for many years. Now with land acquisition and LPS, things have started moving. The officials are quite buoyed as the project seems to have finally gained traction after decades of uncertainty.