Karnataka likely to get four greenfield airports in 3-4 years

The proposed greenfield airports projects in Shivamogga, Vijayapura, Hassan and Raichur, aimed to increase their opportunity in tier-II cities, will soon become a reality in Karnataka. According to official sources, with the Kalaburagi and Bidar airports in the last two years after the delays due to the issues of land acquisition and Airports Authority of India (AAI), the state will witness four greenfield airports in the next three to four years. Nearly 45% of the airport work has been completed at the Shivamogga airport, along with the land acquisition issues of the Hassan and Raichur airports. The runway work of the Shivamogga airport is partially completed, and the approach roads, parking area, compound wall, terminal building, internal road, peripheral road, watchtower and the Community Fire Refuges (CFR) buildings are under progress. From the estimate of the project of Rs 384 crore, work worth Rs 125 crore has been completed till now. The land acquisition of the Hassan and Raichur airports are over, but the commencement will take a while. The contract for the Hassan airport has been finalised, and soon a site office will be established. For the Raichur airport, the detailed project report (DPR) has been submitted, and the bidding will begin. The earthwork has been completed for the Vijayapura airport. Out of Rs 220 crore, as the project estimated, Rs 49 crore work is over. The government is spending Rs 954 crore on these four airports. From these, Shivamogga will be a full-fledged airport with a landing capacity for a Boeing A 320 or 737, whereas the remaining three will handle ATR 72 capacity. Image SourceAlso read: Hirasar greenfield airport likely to be ready by March 2023