AAI to build Greenfield airport in Uttarakhand
Dehradun: Uttarakhand government has tied up with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the Udham Singh Nagar district for building a state-of-the-art Greenfield airport to boost domestic and international passengers in the hill state. According to the state government, the green field airport is going to be developed near the existing airport in Pant Nagar which has domestic operations from Delhi and Dehradun airport.
The AAI has submitted a pre-feasibility report for the establishment of a green-field airport in Udham Singh Nagar to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
"The spadework for the proposed green field airport spread on 1100 acres land, has been completed and the work of acquiring land and other technical aspects would be completed in a phased manner in consultation with the AAI and the union aviation ministry," said a senior state government official.
Before submitting the pre feasibility report, senior AAI officials including Chairman Arvind Singh and Union civil aviation ministry secretary Pradeep Khairola and Uttarakhand chief secretary Utpal Kumar Singh had visited the site in Udham Singh Nagar. The state government has not set any deadline for the completion of the airport.
The existing Pant Nagar airport in Udham Singh Nagar district has over 267 acres of land. The passenger terminal is spread over 530 square metres area and has handling capacity of 50 passengers in peak hours.
The green field airport as the concept is suitable for the Himalayan state as it involves the structural planning on the environmental factors.
"After the establishment of the green-field airport, the overall capacity will grow manifold for both domestic and international traffic," said another senior government official. To boost tourism potential of Uttarakhand, the CM has also planned to develop helipads both in Kumaon and Garhwal region.
In Uttarakhand, land and terrain constraints have reduced the expansion possibility of the Dehradun and Pithoragarh airports.
The upcoming greenfield airport will bring Uttarakhand in the international aviation map.
