Intrusion detection system at Delhi airport stuck

Even as Indira Gandhi International Airport gets a facelift for the Commonwealth Games 2010, the highly sophisticated intrusion detection system has suffered a setback.

The installation of the perimeter intrusion detection system (PIDS), which is armed with thermal-imaging cameras, video-recorders and radars to detect movement of individuals and vehicles at the airport, has been delayed because of last-minute chan-ges in the original project.

Another reason for the delay is National Highway Authority of India and airport officials’ decision to construct a tunnel under the runway to connect the domestic terminal to the new integrated terminal (T3).

The ambitious project to bring metro to the airport has also contributed.

Officers of the Central Industrial Security Force that guards the Delhi airport said the project should have been completed by April 30. Sources said 70% of the project had been completed, but the remaining work was stuck.

“Installation of PIDS is part of the development projects related to terminal 3. The first phase of PIDS installation is nearing completion. The readiness of PIDS depends on the completion of the new project, ‘Northern Access Road’, connecting the domestic terminal to the new integrated terminal. In the first phase, we will cover 19 km of the total area of 27 km,” a Delhi International Airport Limited official said.