Second airport: MBP plans to meet civil aviation minister to push for clearance

Bengaluru: In an attempt to speed up the case for Bengaluru’s second international airport, Industries Minister M B Patil is set to meet Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu in the course of the week. The Karnataka government is waiting on the Airport Authority of India (AAI) to submit the feasibility report on the three shortlisted locations for the project. 

The AAI had conducted an on-site feasibility study of the three locations in April and was scheduled to release the report in mid-July. As per well-placed AAI sources, the report was submitted to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on June 23, but is yet to be received by the Government of Karnataka. 

“I plan to meet the Union Civil Aviation Minister this week to expedite this process. I’m waiting for him to give me a date. The report is holding back the project, and the other necessary steps and approvals that need to be taken to finalise a location for the project are getting delayed,” Patil
told DH. 

The AAI has inspected two adjacent land parcels on Kanakapura Road near Harohalli, spanning 4,800 acres and 5,000 acres respectively, and a 5,200-acre area on Kunigal Road in Nelamangala. Construction of the new airport will require 4,500 acres. 

Once the Civil Aviation Ministry releases the report, Patil plans to bring a private consultancy firm on board to assess the viability of all three locations. “We have some firms in mind. A firm that has worked with new major airports in the country, like the Noida Airport or the Navi Mumbai airport, would be ideal,” he told DH. 

The state government plans to “leave no stone unturned before finalising the location for the airport”, said the minister. “The location will be chosen purely based on merit. There is no room for any personal connections or influence. If we choose based on public opinion or vested interests, the airport will be doomed from the start. Only the data from the feasibility and viability reports will determine the location,” he added.