Chief minister V Narayanasamy has sought the Union government to fund the expansion of the Puducherry airport, on the lines of assisting the North-Eastern states, in improving air-connectivity.
Narayanasamy in a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Union territory needs 85 hectares (212 acres) of land from neighbouring Tamil Nadu to expand the present runway by another 1,000m.
“Since the airport is surrounded by Tamil Nadu, the required additional land has to be acquired only through TN government. After a joint inspection (that included the AAI officers), necessary land schedule plan has been prepared for the acquisition. It is estimated the acquisition cost will be around Rs 200 crore,” he said.
The chief minister said Puducherry being a tiny Union territory, is not in a position to fully meet the financial burden on additional land acquisition (for expansion of the airport). “Further, on the lines of assisting the North-Eastern states for developing air connectivity, it would be appropriate for the Union government (Civil aviation ministry or Airports authority of India, as the case, maybe) to bear the cost of additional land acquisition, extension of runway and further infrastructure development at Pondicherry airport,” he said.
He pointed out expansion of the airport will benefit not only the Union territory but also the adjoining TN territories. “It will spur all-round growth and development of the region in a big way. In particular, it will pave the way for rapid tourism development and growth of educational, health and industries sectors in and around Puducherry,” he said.
Narayanasamy urged Modi to direct the civil aviation ministry to convene a meeting with all stakeholders to prepare a roadmap and a timeline for the development of the airport. The 1,500m runway of the airport can handle only smaller aircraft like ATR-48, ATR-78 and Q-400. Air services in Puducherry connect the Union territory with Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
02/03/18 Times of India
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Narayanasamy in a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Union territory needs 85 hectares (212 acres) of land from neighbouring Tamil Nadu to expand the present runway by another 1,000m.
“Since the airport is surrounded by Tamil Nadu, the required additional land has to be acquired only through TN government. After a joint inspection (that included the AAI officers), necessary land schedule plan has been prepared for the acquisition. It is estimated the acquisition cost will be around Rs 200 crore,” he said.
The chief minister said Puducherry being a tiny Union territory, is not in a position to fully meet the financial burden on additional land acquisition (for expansion of the airport). “Further, on the lines of assisting the North-Eastern states for developing air connectivity, it would be appropriate for the Union government (Civil aviation ministry or Airports authority of India, as the case, maybe) to bear the cost of additional land acquisition, extension of runway and further infrastructure development at Pondicherry airport,” he said.
He pointed out expansion of the airport will benefit not only the Union territory but also the adjoining TN territories. “It will spur all-round growth and development of the region in a big way. In particular, it will pave the way for rapid tourism development and growth of educational, health and industries sectors in and around Puducherry,” he said.
Narayanasamy urged Modi to direct the civil aviation ministry to convene a meeting with all stakeholders to prepare a roadmap and a timeline for the development of the airport. The 1,500m runway of the airport can handle only smaller aircraft like ATR-48, ATR-78 and Q-400. Air services in Puducherry connect the Union territory with Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
02/03/18 Times of India
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