Maya nixes Mulayam’s pet airport project

New Delhi: Yet another decision of the chief minister Miss Mayawati hits her bête noir Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav’s dream project at Safai vilage in his home district of Etawah. He had planned a modern airport of international standard at the village.
The UP government now wants to make money out of the idle aerodromes in the state by handing them to private parties. The 12 state-owned airstrips, including the one at Safai, will be handed over to private investors for setting up flying training institutes or aircraft maintenance and engineering institutes.
Regarding Mr Yadav’s dream project for upgradation of Safai airport the soil testing was planned by Railway India Technical & Engineering Services (RITES) Ltd for Boeing operations. Mr Yadav wanted work on the airstrip to be completed by March 2007, just before his tenure ended. His plans involved construction of a new ATC tower and a terminal building. “The government airstrip will be used for building the airport, which will be equipped with most advanced technology. The whole idea is to make it comparable to any of the world’s best international airports,” Mr Yadav had said.
The victory of Miss Mayawati spoiled it all.
The other nearly idle airstrips from which the government plans to make money are in Ambedkarnagar, Ghazipur, Sultanpur, Aligarh, Meerut, Farrukhabad, Faizabad, Kushinagar, Sonebhadra, Lakhimpur Kheri and Shrawasti. The government wants the private parties to pay Rs three lakhs per year. After five years, their contract would be renewed with a 50 per cent hike in annual charges, official sources said.
01/08/07 The Statesman

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Categories: Airports Aug 2007, New Aug 2007