Punjab offers land to AAI

New Delhi: Punjab is all set to reap the benefits of a booming aviation industry. The state wants to have new airports at Chandigarh and Ludhiana. It has offered 200 acres of land in the capital city to Airports Authority of India (AAI) for developing the international airport and wants to use half of the land for commercial development. A team of senior aviation ministry officials will visit both the sites this month-end to take a final decision.
"The alignment of existing runway at Ludhiana has to be changed for the development plan to allow movement of bigger planes. The state wants the new airport there to be an essentially cargo one," said a senior official. The combined cost of developing new airports in Ludhiana and Chandigarh is expected to be about Rs 1,000 crore as the land is being offered by the state.
The existing airport at Chandigarh is on a mere 15-acre site and has no scope for further development. That's why the state has offered a new site at Mohali. The AAI is also exploring the possibility of making the Amritsar airport capable of handling the A-380.
14/07/07 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jul 2007, New Jul 2007