PATNA/PURNIA, July 4 -- Commercial flights are likely to begin from the Purnia airport by September, after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Bihar government decided to complete all pending work related to the construction of an interim terminal building, on the porta concept, at the Purnea airport by August, said officials here on Thursday. Bihar chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena and AAI chairman Vipin Kumar visited the Purnia airport on Thursday and held discussions with officials to sort out last-minute issues related to the boundary wall of the airport, the internal perimeter road, culvert and the terminal building. "All pending issues have been resolved. The road construction department will make internal roads of the airport, on the request of the AAI. The construction of the boundary wall is also expected to be ready by mid-August. The departments concerned have been allocated work and asked to adhere to the timeline of mid-August," said Nilesh Ramachandran Deore, director of the civil aviation department (CAD), who was part of the team which visited Purnia on Thursday. The Bihar government had also acquired 15 acres additional land for the extension of apron at the Purnia airport that will facilitate wide-bodied aircraft. With a runway length of 2800 metres (approx), the Purnia airport has the longest runway among other airports in the state like Patna, Gaya and Darbhanga. A decision to depute the Bihar Special Auxiliary Police (SAP) to handle the security at the interim terminal building of the Purnia airport was also taken on Thursday, said officials. "We have kept August 15 as the deadline for completion of all pending work, so that we can operationalise the airport soon after that. Almost 70% work on the interim terminal building has already been completed by the agency engaged by the AAI. The state will assist in construction of the boundary wall, internal roads and culvert by mid-August. Work is moving at a fast pace and is at different stages of completion," said Anshul Kumar, DM, Purnia, who also attended the meeting. The officials also decided to soon float a tender for the construction of the new permanent terminal building for the Purnia airport that will be ready in the next 2-3 years. The AAI had on February 20 awarded work for the construction of an interim terminal building at the Purnea airport to Messrs MHPL India Private Limited, a Kanpur based firm at a cost of Rs.33.99 crore, which was 23% less than the estimated cost of Rs.44.15 crore. Work on the interim terminal building had begun on March 1 with a completion deadline of four months. The Purnea airport will be equipped with modern facilities. The AAI's architect has already prepared the design of Purnia Airport. The airport will be equipped with "state of the art" facilities and has been designed keeping in mind the passenger footfall for the next 30-40 years. Total five aerobridges will be built at this airport, which will provide better connectivity to the passengers. It will also have a cargo complex, AC chiller plant, sewage treatment plant (STP), water and fire tank, electric substation, aviation fuel farm, administration office, commercial plaza and car parking....