Chennai/Hubli: The Airports Authority of India ( AAI) and the Karnataka government are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) later this month for the much-awaited upgradation of Hubli airport.
According to sources, the MoU will be signed during the visit of AAI chairman VP Agarwal and Union civil aviation ministry joint secretary KN Shrivatsa on January 23.
After acquiring around 600 acres of land required for the airport expansion, utility shifting was an important issue. To resolve the issue, the Airport Advisory Committee headed by MP Pralhad Joshi has decided to urge the state to provide Rs 11crore, as the AAI has denied to bear this cost. The meeting of the committee was held recently to discuss various issues related to the airport upgradation and decided to fix the time frame to complete the utility shifting on January23.
After the meeting, Joshi told the media that the AAI had already approved the proposal to construct the airport compound wall at a cost of Rs 7 crore, and Rs 169 crore proposal for runway expansion is awaiting the approval of the AAI board of management.
17/01/13 Business Standard
