THE new air traffic control tower at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) will be handed over to the Airports Authority of India only by July-end as against its scheduled opening in June. We have done all the major work right before the monsoon; right now cables and ducts are being fitted but everything will be completed by July-end, said a spokesperson for Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL). For six months after the new 82-m tall edifice is ready,both the ATC towers will be functional as part of a test-run for the new construction. The present 60-m high ATC tower obstructs MIALs designs for a parallel taxiway for the secondary runway. The old structure will be demolished once the synchronised operation of the two towers is completed early next year,making way for reduced air traffic and flight delays at the already congested airport. MIAL also claims the airport is ready for the monsoon with a new drainage system in place. Two new 12-m wide channels 470 m long and 8-9 m deep have been constructed for the Mithi river. These culverts below the primary runway will allow the easy flow of water beneath the tarmac. Both the runways were flooded in the July 2005 deluge,halting all flight operations for almost 30 hours. This year,high priority was also given to desilting the Shraddhanand nullah, the spokesperson said. Air traffic controllers have conducted friction tests on the airports runways using the Swedish Saab automobiles. These vehicles have an extra wheel attached to measure the friction coefficient, the MIAL said,adding that its presence on social media such as Twitter and Facebook will also help travelers stay informed.
