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Delhi gets 'A-1' terminal, more dream ventures planned

Union Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar says the modernisation of the air traffic system for Bombay and Delhi would be commissioned within a fortnight. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the ultra-modern Terminal 1-A at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Kumar said the Centre would soon give the nod for acquiring 22 aircraft of 50-seat capacity to connect sub-regional hubs to regional and national hubs.

The minister said two cargo centres for perishable goods had been commissioned recently in Delhi and two more, in Bangalore and Guwahati, will be opened very soon.

Development of airport infrastructure in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Bhopal, Dimapur, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Nagpur and Trivandrum was also being taken up.

He also urged Home Minister L K Advani to help in getting Planning Commission clearance for a new Rs 7 billion terminal for Delhi which would match the best international standards.

Earlier, Advani opened the rebuilt, ultra-modern Terminal 1-A, which has a lot of history -- and tragedy -- attached to it.

It was built as a temporary structure in 1981-82 to cater to the large number of VIPs and athletes for the Delhi Asiad. It was modified and converted into a passenger terminal for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which followed later. A fire in October 1996 gutted this important Indian Airlines terminal.

The home minister urged that Terminal 1-A's maintenance and user-friendly qualities be kept at top quality as travellers got their first impression of the city from the airport.

Advani said his government had promised to be decisive and efficient in its actions and this new terminal was just one more proof of it.

The home minister said the Union government would lay emphasis on infrastructural development.

Airports Authority of India Chairman Ranjan Chatterjee announced the institution of 'user-friendly airport employee' awards to motivate staff all over the country to maintain airports in a passenger-friendly manner.

Chatterjee said his organisation's aim was to create vision airports with world class facilities.

Terminal 1-A has been rebuilt at a cost of Rs 260 million. The capacity of the domestic passenger service capability will increase from 4.7 million to 7.2 million passengers annually.

Equipped with the latest computerised intelligent fire detection alarm system and automatic sprinkler system, it has special facilities for disabled people, a special mother-child care room and air-conditioned coach shuttles between the international and domestic airports.

UNI

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