AAI seeks bids for pending Rs 138 crore works at Vijayawada airport

Vijayawada: Following a dismal response to its earlier tender notification for the completion of the balance works of the new integrated terminal building and associated facilities at Vijayawada International Airport, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) floated a fresh tender inviting contractors to complete the remaining works at an estimated cost of Rs 138.20 crore.The new integrated terminal building works at the airport were 80% complete, while the remaining 20% works, which are pending, are likely to take another 5 months for completion, further delaying its construction and pushing the terminal building inauguration to the second half of 2026.To cater to the growing air and passenger traffic and to further enhance the passenger amenities at Vijayawada airport, the foundation stone for the construction of the Rs 611 crore new integrated terminal building at Vijayawada International Airport was laid on December 4, 2018, by the then civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu and former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu. The terminal building was under construction ever since its foundation stone, missing multiple deadlines.As per the latest tender notification, for which the last date to file tender bids is February 10, while the bid opening date is February 12, the AAI aims to execute the pending 20% works pertaining to the new terminal building in 150 working days. This will be finished by July, if things goes as planned, with another 2 months for the full-fledged commissioning of the new terminal building to get mandatory clearances and permissions from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and others."A total of 1,500 work items to the tune of Rs 138.20 crore are pending with regard to the construction of the new terminal building. All the 1,500 work items are paramount for the completion of the terminal building. And the earlier revised March 31 deadline for the completion of the terminal building will be revised once again, and a new revised deadline will be announced afresh," an AAI official said.For context, the AAI earlier terminated NKG Infrastructure Limited over the snail-paced progress in the construction of the new terminal building and floated tenders inviting bids to complete the balance 20% works with a 90 working days deadline. However, no tender bids were received, prompting the AAI to cancel the earlier tender notification and float a fresh tender notification.