Hyderabad: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is ready to build an airport at Mamnoor in Telangana’s Warangal, for which the Centre recently gave clearance, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu said on Sunday.
He said the AAI was ready with a master plan to build the airport and the work would be launched once the Telangana government completes the land acquisition process and hands over the land.
Addressing a press conference along with Union Minister for Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy, he said that the airport construction would be completed in two-and-a-half years from the commencement of the work.
He also stated the airport would require a minimum Rs .500 crore investment, including for runway, terminal building and additional facilities.
Ram Mohan Naidu said the capacity of the terminal building would be decided after a survey. The terminal building would reflect the heritage and culture of Warangal.
He hoped that Mamnoor airport would help Warangal compete with the major cities in the country. He exuded confidence that the airport would boost tourism and business open up opportunities in the manufacturing sector and give a push to the textile industry in Warangal.
The minister said the clearance for Mamnoor airport fulfilled a long pending demand of the people of the region. “I consider it my good fortune to get the opportunity to give clearance for the project,” he said.
He pointed out that Mamnoor airport was the biggest airport in the region in the pre-independence era. The airport had some activity till 1981 and later it was neglected as all the concentration was on the state capital Hyderabad.
He said 696 acres of land at Mamnoor was already with the AAI and of the two runways, 1,500 metres were in dilapidated condition. As the narrow-body flights require 2,800 metre-long runways, the need was felt for additional land.
The Centre mooted the proposal for an additional 280 acres of land but there was no proper response and cooperation from the previous state government. He said as the Mamnoor airport is coming up within 150-km radius of Shamshabad airport, a no-objection certificate was also required from the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL)
With the new government in Telangana issuing an order for the acquisition of 280 acres and GHIAL giving a no-objection certificate, it paved the way for the clearance of Mamnoor airport.
The state has already allocated Rs 205 crore for acquiring 280.30 acres for the airport which can handle Airbus 320 and Boeing 737 category aircraft.
Ram Mohan Naidu said he was committed to work for the development of civil aviation in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
He said eight months ago when he assumed officer, his leader N. Chandrababu Naidu asked him to act as a minister for both the Telugu states.
On the Bhadradri Kothagudem airport, the Civil Aviation Minister said the site identified by the state government in the past was not found feasible due to hills and geographical structures. The state government then proposed an alternate location and the AAI team, which conducted feasibility tests, sought some data from the Indian Meteorological Department and the state government.
Warangal would be the third airport in Telangana after Shamshabad and Begumpet airports. Though there are requests for developing airports in other regions, the decision will be taken after conducting a feasibility study.
He noted that in some areas there are restrictions because of the activity of the Indian Air Force and Ministry of Defence. Their permissions have to be taken for building the airports.
Ram Mohan Naidu said the NDA government was working to develop Hyderabad as an aviation hub and promote the aerospace manufacturing sector.
Stating that the NDA government is giving priority to developing airports across the country including in small cities and remote regions, he said there were only 76 airports in the country in 2014 and this number has now gone up to 159. No other country in the world has grown at this pace, he said.
Kishan Reddy thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Civil Aviation Minister for the clearance to the Warangal airport, saying this fulfilled a long-pending demand of people of the region.
(IANS)
