Bengaluru: Newly constructed Shivamogga Airport is likely to be operationalised from August 11 and all the pending amenities in the Airport would be put in place by July 20, said Large Industries and Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil on July 13.
He instructed the officials to ensure everything was ready by July 20 while he chaired the progress review meeting of new airports in the state.
“Ambulance and other vehicles need to be deployed and a coffee cafe is required to be opened. Apart from these, some technical and non-technical staff need to be appointed. The Airport will be set ready for operations by July 20 by fulfilling all these requirements,” he stated.
The Directorate of Civil Aviation has permitted Karnataka State Industries and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) to conduct the operation and maintenance of this airport. With this Shivamogga Airport would become the very first airport to be maintained by an institution of the state Government, Minister added.
During the campaigning for the state Assembly elections, as many as 20 air buses landed here and that fetched an income of Rs. 12 Lakh, he informed.
If everything goes as planned first flight will take off from Bengaluru to land at Shivamogga Airport on August 11. Prominent people including people representatives will be invited to be part of the historic moment on that day, informed Patil informed.
Vijayapura Airport: Directs to include night landing facility
Meanwhile, he also reviewed the progress of the ongoing Vijayapura Airport work. Expressing his dissatisfaction about not having provided a night landing facility here, he directed the concerned officials to take steps to incorporate the facility.
“The original plan did not include the night landing facility. So far around Rs. 350 Crore has been spent and an additional Rs. 12 Crore will be needed to include a night landing facility. Runway work has been completed and all structure-related works will be done in three months. Simultaneously, installation of the equipment will be taken care of, he added.
The Minister also examined the progress of ongoing airport projects at Hassan, Rayachuru and Karwar. Later, he also discussed pertaining to airstrips at Dharmasthala, Kodagu and Chikkamagalu which were proposed in the recent state Budget.