Union Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu with Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy at a press conference in Hyderabad on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G
Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu has urged the State Government to expedite the land acquisition process for the Centre to go ahead with building the brownfield airport in Warangal (Mamnoor) within the next two-and-a-half years.
Addressing a press conference here, along with Union Minister of Coal and Mines and Telangana BJP president G. Kishan Reddy, on Sunday, he said that a long-standing demand of the people of Warangal has been fulfilled by the NDA Government by clearing the project within eight months. A no-objection certificate was also obtained from the GMR International Airport at Shamshabad as the new airport comes within 150 km of it.
The State Government too, had issued a Government Order to hand over 280 acres for the airport works, as the old airport has 696 acres under the control of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) with dilapidated runways of 1,800 metres in a criss-cross fashion. The airport needs a runway of about 2,800 metres to handle narrow-body Airbus aircraft so the extra land of 240 acres was sought for which the Government here had sanctioned 280 acres, said Mr. Naidu.
The AAI is preparing a master plan for constructing the new airport terminal reflecting the history and cultural legacy of the region, he assured and observed that the upcoming facility will unleash employment opportunities, propel international tourism, develop the city as an education hub, and support manufacturing and textiles industry.
Mr. Naidu said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, the Centre has been giving a lot of importance to develop new airports with the number increasing from 76 to 159 under the UDAN regional network scheme. The Centre is also studying the feasibility of another airport in Bhadradri-Kothagudem from the geographical and weather point of view.
Mr. Kishan Reddy thanked the Prime Minister and Mr. Naidu for clearing the decks for Warangal airport. He also recalled his own efforts to get the project take off, but accused the BRS Government of not showing much enthusiasm. “Efforts will be made to develop airports in Tier-2 cities such as Bhadrachalam, Nizamabad and Adilabad,” he added.
Earlier, the Ministers unveiled the ‘Yojana’ special issue on the Union Budget 25-26.
Published – March 02, 2025 08:45 pm IST
