The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has asked for an additional land of 110 acre for expansion of the Mangalore airport which the Karnataka government has agreed to hand over, according to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel.
The Minister said the additional land was for construction of a parallel taxiway and widening of the basic strip of the new runway besides construction of a link road to connect the city approach road to the new terminal building.

He said the State government has offered to provide additional land for the extension of the new runway from 8000 to 9000 ft and more.

“The land offered is in a valley which is 75 to 80 metre deep. A detailed techno-economic feasibility study, environment impact and safety assessments are required to be carried out as it involves huge earth-filling. AAI is also examining the possibility of limited extension of the runway within the available land,” Patel told B Janardhana Poojary (Congress) in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

The expansion work would also require diversion of roads by the State government.

The State government had handed over 186 acre in 2003 for construction of a new runway and a new terminal building and provided an additional 156 acre by December 2006 for a taxiway to link the new runway with the old, new fire station, new technical block, control tower and additional land required for the terminal building.
The Minister told G M Siddeswara (BJP) that the Mangalore airport was upgraded with required facilities and declared as customs airport with effect from May 3, 2007 for operation of international flights.

Bidar Airport

The Defence ministry has given its approval for a civil enclave at the IAF airstrip at Bidar, the Minister said.

He told Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi (Congress) and Rajeev Chandrashekhar (Ind) that inspection of the proposed site identified for civil enclave at Bidar airforce station has been carried out by a technical team of the AAI.

He added that AAI has forwarded the feasibility report to the State government and asked it to confirm the availability and handing over the required land to AAI free of cost and free from all encumberances. ‘The matter being at preliminary stage, no definite time frame for operationalisation of the civil enclave can be indicated,’ the Minister added.

As for the Bellary airport, the Minister said the AAI has not found it feasible to develop the existing airport due to `natural constraints’.

On the proposal for a civil enclave at Karwar, he said it was at a preliminary stage as the airstrip was yet to be developed by the Indian Navy.