The long awaited expansion plan of Mysuru airport including the runway extension is set to gain traction as the State Government on Saturday gave its consent for land acquisition and released ₹319.13 crore for the project.
The airport expansion coupled with the completion of the expressway project linking Bengaluru and Mysuru is expected to be a game-changer for the economic fortune of the region and give a boost to both tourism and industrial activity.
The Cabinet decision was also in tune with the announcement made in the State Budget by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that the Mysuru airport runway would be extended.
The airport expansion work requires nearly 240 acres of land and final notification has been issued for land acquisition with respect to 160.5 acres. Preliminary notification will be issued for acquiring the remaining swathe of land and the Cabinet has fixed compensation at the rate of ₹1.5 crore per acre.
Though the Airports Authority of India had signed an MoU with the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) for land acquisition, the State Government has directed that Karnataka State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSSIDC) be made the nodal agency for transfer of land to AAI and oversee the works.
Reacting to the developments Mysuru MP Pratap Simha has thanked Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and said that it will give a much-needed boost to the comprehensive development of Mysuru and surrounding regions.
The Mysuru airport has flights connecting the city to Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Goa while Hubballi will be in the flight path from May 3. But introduction of long-haul flights for connecting the city to rest of India is hampered by the runway which has a length of 1,740 metres and a breadth of 30 metres and is suitable for operating ATR-72 type of aircraft over short distances.
The proposed expansion plan entails increasing the runway length to 2,750 metres and breadth to 45 metres so as to help operate bigger planes to facilitate long distance flights from the city.
The airport expansion also includes constructing an underpass or a subway below the runway. This is necessitated to take up the runway extension which bisects the existing Mysuru-Nanjangud highway, diverting which will be prohibitive and unfeasible in terms of cost.But the subway plans has obviated the need for such an exercise and the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also cleared the proposal.
Sources in the AAI said with the latest development the airport expansion work will be fast tracked and work will commence as soon as the State Government transfers the land. Besides, they don’t expect any hurdles because farmers were eager to sell the land given the acquisition cost fixed by the Government.
