IFM service providers can now look for opportunities at the new integrated terminal at Kolkata airport scheduled to be completed in June-July this year. Speaking to CIJ, Airport Director B P Sharma said that constant complaints about the current facility, especially maintenance, have forced the management to revaluate the situation and decide to engage professional services for facility management. The new terminal is expected to be nearly seven times the size of the current one, and the challenges would be profound.
The airport currently has 1,000 non-executive staff of which around 200 are employed in the cargo wing while the rest will have to be reassigned elsewhere. Most of the electrical, electronics and mechanical equipment will be under annual maintenance contract for three-five years while cleaning and baggage trolley management will be handed over to private agencies. The shift however would be gradual with work on the facility still in progress. Currently, four levels of the new terminal, which include the basement, arrival, upper arrival and upper departure, are ready, while the fifth level which houses the departure area is under construction. The AAI management hopes to float the tender for IFM Services at the end of June-July.