Airport to come up at Mohali, land acquisition by Dec

Chandigarh: With a high-level Central team zeroing in on a site near the Chandigarh airport, an international airport at Mohali will soon be a reality. The airport, a joint venture between Airport Authority of India (AAI) and Great Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), will be the second international airport in Punjab after the one at Amritsar. According to the sources, the state government will start acquiring land for the project from December after an agreement is signed next month. An official said, “The state government has informed AAI that it wants equity or joint venture in the project as the government would be acquiring land for the project.”
During its visit here, the Central team met Punjab Chief Secretary R I Singh and also visited the sites proposed for the airport in Punjab, near the Chandigarh airport.
Sources said the state government estimates that it will have to shell out some Rs 500 crore to acquire the proposed 300 acres of land as it costs around Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore per acre in the area. Since the SAD-BJP government had changed the Land Acquisition Policy of the state, it now has to pay the market price for the acquired land.
19/10/07 Harpreet Bajwa/Chandigarh Newsline

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Oct 2007, New Oct 2007