₹4.74 cr released for regional airport
Funds released are for land acquisition process of an arterial road connecting the terminal and the airbase
GHAZIABAD: The Uttar Pradesh state department of civil aviation on Monday released ₹4.74 crore for the acquisition process of land for the construction of an arterial road required to connect terminal facilities near the Hindon airbase, officials said. The project is part of the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) which will allow regional flights to operate from the airbase.
District magistrate Ritu Maheshwari confirmed the release of the amount. She said work will start once bids are open by mid-October. The official said almost 12,000 square metre (sqm) land is required which will be procured from local farmers and the UP Avas Vikas. “Nearly 5,000 sqm of land out of the 12,000 sqm required for the road belongs to farmers. We have already offered them a rate of ₹9,500 per sqm for the land needed for construction. The rest belongs to the UP Avas Vikas. The road construction work will be taken up by the public works department (PWD) and a tender has been floated,” Maheshwari added.
She said the Ghaziabad municipal corporation has already floated bids for installation for street lights for the proposed road, which will come up at Sikandarpur village adjacent to the airbase.
In order to provide basic infrastructure for operating regional flights from the Hindon airbase, the executive committee of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation in August had approved a budget of ₹58 lakh, for the installation of lights and their maintenance for the project. “The work for construction of terminal facilities is already in progress and road construction and setting up of other utilities will be initiated soon. It is likely that all work will finish by December,” she added.
The terminal facilities, being readied by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), are spread over an area of nearly 22,050 sqm while the other utility services will be provided by UP agencies such as the PWD and the municipal corporation.
While, the under-construction terminal will function as entry and exit points and waiting areas for passengers, only flight operations of the RCS project will use the airbase’s existing runway.
The scheme will provide relief to the overburdened Delhi airport. The UP government and the AAI have already signed a memorandum of agreement for the project and also agreed upon the land lease rates. The UP agencies were tasked to procure land for development of infrastructure facilities for the project.