Puducherry airport expansion: AAI initiates process to choose consultant for preparation of Land Plan Schedule

After successfully completing the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey to identify potential hindrances in the airspace of Puducherry Airport ahead of the new runway construction, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has now initiated the process of appointing a consultant to prepare the Land Plan Schedule (LPS). This is part of their plan to acquire 402 acres of land in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the airport expansion works.

The AAI’s Civil Engineering Division at Puducherry Airport invited bids on September 3 for survey work related to the required 402 acres. The scope includes preparing documents such as identifying the survey numbers within the project area, determining the extent of land required in each survey number, merging all village maps into a single entity, and individually colour-marking the re-survey numbers. According to a source, the consultant will be required to coordinate with revenue authorities in Villupuram and Puducherry to extract details necessary for preparing documents to facilitate the land acquisition process.

The new runway would entail discarding the existing runway of 1,502 m and constructing a new flight strip of 2,300 m for the operation of wide-bodied aircraft from Puducherry. For the construction of a new runway, 2,300 metres long and 45 metres wide, the AAI would require 217 acres in Tamil Nadu and 185 acres in Puducherry.

In May, a three-member team from the central headquarters of the AAI in New Delhi conducted a week-long survey using high-tech equipment, including Differential Global Positioning System, an equipment used for satellite-assisted land-mapping, to identify any obstacle that may come in the way of smooth landing and take-off of flights. The Puducherry Airport has received from its headquarters the OLS charts, which gives detailed information about the airspace around the airstrip.

Discussions are scheduled to take place at the administrative level next week in Puducherry to take the airport expansion project further, including the land acquisition part, the source said.