Telangana will soon have a second airport at Mamnoor in Warangal district, the first being the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad, as the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has given the clearance for the project, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Telangana chief minister A Revanth Reddy, while addressing a rally, “Praja Palana Vijayotsava Sabha” (meeting to celebrate victory of people’s governance), at Warangal on Tuesday, declared that the new airport will bring about a major transformation in the development of Warangal city, about 160 km away from Hyderabad.
“Many states in the country have more than two airports, some even four or five. But Telangana has so far only one airport. Now, the AAI has given the nod for developing the airport at Mamnoor in Warangal, which will go a long way in the development of northern Telangana,” the chief minister said.
On Sunday, the state government issued an order sanctioning ₹205 crore for acquiring over 280.3 acres of land for the development of Mamnoor airport at Warangal. The government order, which was seen by HT, said the AAI had informed the state government that it is ready to develop the Warangal airport for running A-320 type of aircraft.
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“It (AAI) has come forward tobear the infrastructure cost, operational and maintenance of the proposed airport. A master plan has been prepared for the operation of A-320 type of aircraft for which an additional land measuring 253 acres is required from the state government of Telangana, free of cost and free from all encumbrances,” the order said.
The AAI also wanted the state government to take up the proposal and expedite handing over of the required land to the airports body and no-objection certificate from the Hyderabad International Airport Ltd.
The order said that as per the concession agreement between GMR Group, which manages the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad and the ministry of civil aviation, no new or existing airport shall be permitted by the central government to be developed as, or improved or upgraded into, a domestic or international airport within an aerial distance of 150 km of the Hyderabad airport before the 25th anniversary of the opening date.
Since Mamnoor is located about 175 km from Hyderabad airport, the GMR has given the no-objection certification for the new airport, after taking an approval at its board meeting on October 23.
The government also ordered the district collector to acquire additional land of 253 acres and hand it over to AAI for expansion of the runway.
