Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: The new terminal building being constructed at the Biju Patnaik Airport is all set to miss yet another deadline.

Work on the project has been slow mainly because of the shortage of skilled manpower and meeting the August 31 deadline seems impossible.

When work on the new terminal building started in May 2010, the initial deadline for completing the project was March 31, 2012. Later, the Airports Authority of India extended the deadline till August 31.

Though airport officials are hopeful of completing the work by October, it seems unlikely that the project will be over before January next.

An official said that participation of multiple agencies was also responsible for the project work to slow down.

Airport director Sharad Kumar admitted that there were problems of coordination and subsequent delay as some 32 private agencies were involved in the project work.

Contractors engaged in the project also rue the lack of expert hands.

A report prepared by the Airports Authority of India says that dedicated power supply, cabling and other installations for computerisation and shifting of a filling station that would supply aviation fuel are yet to be done. Completion of a road from the new terminal building to Ekamra Square is also awaited.

The Airports Authority of India report, which was prepared in July, has asked the contractors to speed up their work while pointing out that the chief contractor for the project continues to meet the time schedule despite repeated calls for improvement.

Sources said of the total project cost of around Rs 150 crore, only Rs 55.37 crore had been spent till July.

An airport official said that Central Electrical Supply Utility (Cesu), the state agency distributing power in the area, was yet to start construction of a sub-station for the new terminal building. Once the civil work of the terminal is over, power supply would be the major hindrance in taking the project work forward.

Shifting of the existing aviation fuel supply depot has also become necessary, while the Airports Authority of India would also need to coordinate with the state government for construction of the road from the new terminal building to Ekamra Square.

Some 30 staff quarters of the Indian Meteorology Department were recently demolished to facilitate construction of this road.

As the state government plans to showcase the cultural wealth of Odisha near the new terminal, a decision has also been taken to install artworks at the new terminal.

An engineer, who is engaged in the construction of the terminal, said on conditions of anonymity: “There is no hope of the project getting complete by the end of this year. The main reason for this inordinate delay is lack of quality manpower and slow flow of funds.”