Mysuru Airport expansion work to be expedited

The first phase of the expansion of the Mysuru Airport, which hinges on land acquisition and transfer, is set to get fresh traction.

This follows a directive by the Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa, who reviewed the work in progress and took stock of the current status of the airport project on Saturday. The Minister said that 240 acres of land has already been acquired and compensation for the same has been distributed.

An additional 40 acres has to be transferred to the Airport Authority of India (AAI) before the actual work can commence. Sources said that the 40 acres in question is government land, and does not entail any land acquisition procedure to be set in motion or require any compensation to be paid. As it was government land, it needs to be transferred from the Revenue Department to AAI, the sources added.

The Minister has assured that the approval will be completed in 10 days, thus signifying a push to the long-pending expansion work. The airport expansion project entails increasing the existing runway from 1,750 metres to 2,450 metres in order to facilitate the operation of long-haul and bigger flights, unlike only ATR-72 flights that operate over short distances at present.

Though the Mysuru Airport had connectivity to Bengaluru, Belagavi, Kochi, Goa, Mangaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad over the last few years, at present there are only two flights that are operational — to Hyderabad and Chennai.

Stakeholders in the industry aver that direct flight connectivity was a must for the city to attract additional investment and propel rapid growth. At present, tourism is the main economic driver of the city, but travel and leisure alone cannot be sustainable without a robust industrial growth, according to key industrial players.

Tanveer Sait, MLA, said that the expansion of the airport will boost Mysuru’s overall development, promote the growth of IT companies, and increase cargo operations.

The Minister also referred to the white-topping of major arterial roads in Mysuru at a cost of ₹393.85 crore. He said 12 roads measuring about 46 km in length would be taken up for white-topping and it would enhance the durability of roads in the city.

MP for Mysuru Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar urged the authorities not to ignore the city aesthetics while taking up new projects. The city’s aesthetic appeal should not diminish and there was a need for alternative planning and design, he added.

G.T. Deve Gowda and Harish Gowda, MLAs; G. Lakshmikant Reddy, Deputy Commissioner; P.V. Ushakumari, Mysuru Airport Director; and others were present.