Mangaluru: Airport Authority of India Chennai Division Regional Executive Director S Shreekumar said the aim of the authority is to make Mangaluru International Airport among Top 10 airports in the world.

airport.jSpeaking to reporters, he said that the airport, after securing the second position in India as per ASQ rating, has achieved a score of 4.85 out of 5 and is placed in the 30th position in the world rankings.

The authority has been striving to bring the airport to first position in ASQ rating and various development projects have been planned in this regard, he added.

He said an extension of terminal building of the airport has been planned at a cost of Rs 132.24 crore. With the execution of this project, the current area of the terminal building of Rs 28,000 square metres will be extended by another 10,000 square metres. Two additional passenger boarding bridges will be built. Three more baggage claim belts will be added on the international arrival terminal and three baggage conveyor belts in domestic arrival terminal. A new arrival hall will be built at the car park level. The elevated level will only for departures. The works will be completed by April 2020, he explained.

The safety basic strip of runway and a parallel taxi track will be constructed at a cost of Rs 121 crore. Aircraft parking bays will be extended at a cost of Rs 7 crore to enhance the runway handling capacity from 10 flights per hour to 20 flights per hour.

The terminal building will be provided with a facelift at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore, to include expansion of domestic SHA, state-of-the-art false ceilings, cladding and planters, catering to international standards. The terminals will showcase the culture of the region through artworks featuring Guttu pillars, tiger dance, Yakshagana figures and so on. These apart, the air navigation system will be upgraded to include DVOR, radar, ILS and advanced security system for improved surveillance. All these works are expected to be complete by 2019, he said.

Shreekumar said that under the CSR activities, the airport has taken up the work of Malavoor drainage system at a cost of Rs 6.75 crore. The project will be realised by April 2019.

The construction work of an anganwadi in Malavoor village has been started at a cost of Rs 14 lakh. The construction of a memorial for air crash victims at NMPT garden is also taken up. A project has been taken up to provide drinking water to the villages near the airport, he added.