Hyderabad: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is actively considering a proposal from the Telangana government seeking approval to construct a 600 metre-long six-lane underpass tunnel beneath the Begumpet Airport runway, aimed at easing traffic congestion, official sources said.
The permission is expected to be granted in a couple of weeks as the proposal requires Airports Authority of India’s board permission, they said.
“The AAI has received the proposal and it is under active consideration. NHAI (National Highway Authority of India) and AAI teams are examining the designs. The permission is likely to be given in a couple of weeks,” the sources told PTI.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy last month said that for the “first time” in the country, an underground traffic tunnel is being constructed beneath the runway of Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad to ease vehicle congestion in the city.
Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority ( HMDA) sources said the tunnel project is part of an elevated corridor that the agency is building from Paradise to Suchitra Junction in the city covering 5.5 km with an estimated cost of Rs 550 crore.
The corridor will benefit commuters heading to northern parts of the state.
The tunnel highway was proposed to avoid a turn in the Tadbund area, which posed difficulties for widening, prompting officials to bypass it and opt for the proposed tunnel at Begumpet.
The AAI chairman is said to have given an assurance to the Commissioner of HMDA that working permission for the tunnel would be given initially.
“This process has been going on for the past two years after Revanth Reddy took over as chief minister,” HMDA sources said, adding the total project is expected to be completed in two years and the work at Paradise is already in progress.
In a similar case, the Uttar Pradesh government is reportedly constructing an underpass to carry National Highway 31 directly beneath the runway of Varanasi International Airport.
The HMDA sources said though the UP government had applied for the permission after Telangana sought the approval, the BJP-led northern state got it first.
