The construction of an airport in Hassan may begin within a year as hurdles for the project are being cleared, said Kapil Mohan, Additional Chief Secretary, here on Sunday. He along with officers of KPTCL and CESC visited the land at Boovanahalli near Hassan, acquired for the airport.
An airport in Hassan has been a long pending demand. The current government is interested in taking up the project. “At present, we are concentrating on clearing the hurdles. At least 2-3 km of the radius of the airport should be clear for flight operations. The power supply lines are being shifted,” he said.
The State government has constructed airports at Kalaburagi and the work has been in progress at Bidar and Shivamogga. “The airport at Kalaburagi has been considered one of the fast-growing airports in the country. We have begun work at Vijaypura and taking up a project with the Indian Navy in Karwar. No other State has taken up the construction of airports as we are doing,” he said.
The officer said the government would construct the airport with the available land, as it was sufficient to operate ATR-72 flights. The government would take up the project either with a private partnership or with the Airport Authority of India.
The KPTCL has taken up the shifting of 220 kV powerline that passes through the land, acquired for the project. The shifting of 68 towers had begun. “The shifting would be completed in 7 months. The total cost is ₹20 crore and we have spent ₹5.36 crore so far”, said D. Nagarjuna, Chief Engineer of KPTCL.
The foundation stone for the airport was laid by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda in 2007, when the JD(S)-BJP coalition was in power. The government had taken up the project on a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model and Jupiter Aviation Services Ltd. had signed an agreement with the government. The government had acquired 536 acres of land for it. However, the private partner did not start the work as it had worked out a plan for 960 acres. The agreement was cancelled during the previous JD(S)-Congress government.
In 1960, the Central Public Works Department had prepared a proposal for an airport with a capacity to handle 50 arrivals and 50 departures a day in Hassan. A preliminary notification for land acquisition was issued in 1969.