Flights will start to operate from the newly built Shivamoga airport on August 11, Shivamogga Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra said on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Raghavendra said many airports constructed in the country took years to start flight operations. However, in Shivamogga, within a few months of completing the construction work, the flights will begin to operate. “Indigo Airlines is expected to announce the flight schedule on its website officially within a couple of days”, he said.
The airport has been constructed on 775 acres of land at Sogane, near Shivamogga at a cost of ₹450 crore. It has a 3.2-kilometre-long runway, and the passenger terminal has a built-up area of 4,320 square metres. The airport can handle aircraft ranging from ATR 72 to Airbus 320.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the airport on February 27 this year.
Visited
Mr. Raghavendra said that during the nine-year tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi many development projects were taken up in Shivamogga. The projects included the construction of railway overbridges on Bhadravathi-Tarikere Road and, Shivamogga-Honnali Road. Similarly, the construction of four more RoBs on Sominakoppa Road, Savalanga Road, Bhadravathi-Kadadakatte and Shivamogga-Chitradurga Road had been going on. “We are committed to completing these works and opening them for the public by the end of December this year,” he said.
Mr. Raghavendra also inspected the construction of the flyover being constructed on NH 13 at Vidya Nagar in the city. He said the construction would be completed soon. It would ease the movement of traffic on the road.
He was accompanied by Shivamogga MLA S.N. Channabasappa, Deputy Commissioner R. Selvamani and BJP leaders during the inspection.
