The state government has released the third installment of Rs 75 crore to the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB), for land acquisition for the expansion of the runway of Mysuru Airport, and its upgradation.
Special Land Acquisition Officer of KIADB Priyadarshini informed as per the initial plan 240 acres of land were required for runway expansion.
“We have to acquire 206.22 acres and the balance is government land. The earlier BJP government had sanctioned Rs 319 crore for land acquisition. They had released Rs 150 crore, including Rs 50 crore in the first installment. Now, the process of acquisition of 160 acres is in the final stages. The KIADB had sought the government to release the remaining amount to complete the process,” she said.
She added that the final notification to acquire 46 acres of land is pending with the government. Once it is done, the price advisory committee will fix the price and they will take up the process of acquiring the land too, she said.
Initially, it was planned to extend the runway from 1,740 meter to 2,750 meter, but now it would be expanded to 3.5 km considering the future growth of Mysuru.
The existing runway can accommodate ATR flights with 72-seat capacity. With the expansion of the runway, wider body aircraft such as Airbus 320, Boeing 737, 747, Globemaster national and international aircraft with over 180-seat capacity can be accommodated. Once the land is acquired, it would be handed over to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) through the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC). The AAI will come up with a detailed project report for the runway expansion bear the cost, she said.
Currently, the Mysuru Airport caters to around 350 passengers daily. Two airlines offer direct connectivity to Chennai and Hyderabad, with more than 80 per cent occupancy. Flight to Goa has been stopped due to technical issues with the airlines.
Published 29 September 2023, 03:15 IST