Haryana Government has proposed cost effective Personalised Rapid Transport (PRT) based on POD Car to provide shortest and most cost effective connectivity between old Chandigarh International Airport and the new Airport located in Mohali.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday, the POD Car proposal was submitted by Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal at a recent meeting in Punjab Raj Bhawan convened by Chandigarh Administrator Banwari Lal Purohit and attended by senior officers of Haryana and Chandigarh.
The proposal on implementation will cut down on the long road travel which residents of Chandigarh Tricity comprising Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali besides neighbouring states have to take at present.
Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal said that Haryana Metro Rail transport Corporation (HMRTC), a wholly owned company of Haryana Government , under HSVP, has proposed POD car system to connect Old Airport Terminal to New Airport Terminal which is cost effective, convenient and requires only about 6 acres of land along the boundary of Chandigarh International Airport. The ownership of this land will remain with the Air Force.
The project cost is just Rs 231.50 Crore, including Rs 116 Cr Infra Cost, Rs 77 Cr Control System and Rs 38.50 Cr Cost of vehicles/PODs as compared with over Rs 1,000 Cr in other alternatives, Kaushal said.
Chandigarh Administration is already in the process of providing road connectivity from Chandigarh to New Airport Terminal. Two alternative alignments have been suggested and submitted to the Indian Air Force, as Chandigarh being the Defence Airport. The proposals are under consideration in the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.
Chief Secretary, Haryana explained that the two options of road connectivity under consideration are very costly and time consuming due to involvement of acquisition of land and removal of unauthorized structures.
Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL) is a joint venture company incorporated under Companies Act, 2013 by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in association with Governments of Punjab and Haryana. The airport runway is located in Chandigarh while the international terminal is located on the south side of the runway in the village of Jhiurheri, Mohali.
To cut down the distance and travel time two proposals – Underpass connectivity and Road Connectivity have been under consideration for a long time.