| The Ahmedabad airport, especially the international terminal, has come in for a lot of criticism from several quarters for grossly inadequate facilities. |
| "As part of the modernisation plan, Rs 175 crore will be spent on constructing an international air terminal, Rs 46 crore for the departure terminal and Rs 40 crore for an arrival terminal," said S D Awasthi, airport director, Ahmedabad airport, while speaking at the sidelines of an interactive session on air travel that was organised by the Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), on Friday. |
| He said while the domestic terminal can at present handle around 300 passengers and the international terminal can handle about 250, this number jump to 600 each once the new terminal is constructed and operational by June 2005. |
| N S Jaladhari, general manager, engineering and projects, Ahmedabad airport, said all these are sanctioned funds and these projects will be taken up and completed on time. |
| "We plan to model the new Ahmedabad airport on the lines of the Changi airport in Singapore and work on both the domestic and international terminals have already begun," Jaladhari said. |
| The AAI official stated that a 12-member delegation of consultants were at the Ahmedabad airport recently and final plans for both airport-side and city-side development of the airport will be taken up. |
| "In 2004 there has been a 12-15 per cent rise in international traffic from Ahmedabad, while the national average growth has been at around seven per cent," Jaladhari said. |
| He said as a stop-gap arrangement, the international airport is being expanded 14 metres and counters are being increased. |
| "Yes, passengers are facing a certain amount of difficulty, but steps are being taken to correct the situation," he said. |
| The plan |
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