SHILLONG: The chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), Guruprasad Mohapatra, and his team will hold a meeting with the chief secretary on Monday to discuss about the removal of obstacles near the airport to pave way for the expansion of the runway.
Mohapatra, who arrived at the Umroi airport on Saturday, gave a power point presentation about the obstacles surrounding the airport.
Besides, AAI’s technical team gave a similar presentation.
Before the instrument landing system (ILS) is installed, several obstructions like hills, trees and power lines in and around the airport have to be removed. Once the obstacles are removed, the runway expansion will start simultaneously and there are no issues with funding.
Mohapatra and his team also visited the runway for taking note of the obstacles surrounding the airport and the funnel area, which is the controlled airspace around an airport.
The airport here is located amid picturesque hills and tall trees, some of which pose obstacles for the operation of ILS.
An area across 224 acres has to be enclosed with boundary walls as well, adding that the 6,000-foot tarmac will be extended by another 1,500 feet as part of the infrastructure upgrade.
The airport was constructed in the mid-1960s and became operational in the mid-1970s. Land measuring 224.16 acres was handed over to AAI in 2009 for expansion.
The High Court of Meghalaya had in November last year pulled up AAI for the delay in expansion work.
