Telangana government to push hard for Kothagudem airport.

The state government is likely to push its proposal for a greenfield airport in Kothagudem in Khammam district with the Union civil aviation ministry, which is scheduled to conduct a meeting on July 29 in Delhi on greenfield airports.

According to sources in the general administration department, chief secretary Rajiv Sharma or industries secretary Arvind Kumar will attend the meeting on July 29 convened by the Union civil aviation ministry with all the states.

The state government would move its proposal for a greenfield airport in Kothagudem. Though, the state government is planning to have smaller airports in Kothagudem, Warangal and Adilabad, the government is according priority to Kothagudem airport due its viability.

Kothagudem is 240 km away from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad and would be viable for passenger operations, official sources said.

‘’Khammam district collector is in the process of acquiring land for the Kothagudem airport with the help of local MLAs,’’ an official said. The Kothagudem airport may come up on 1,500 acres land.

‘’A daily flight is running between Bangalore and Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh. The operations are successful. Likewise, the Kothagudem airport too will be viable economically,’’ the official pointed out.

If the civil aviation ministry gives final clearance, Kothagudem airport would be constructed. Kothagudem airport will become viable as there is no nearest airport to Khammam. The famous Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple at Bhadrachalam is considered next to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and the tourists from north India too visit the temple located in Khammam district. Next, the presence of SSCL, paper mills and other industries will utilise the airport services.

Meanwhile, official sources said that an airport will also be constructed in Adilabad. ‘’At present, Air Force has an old aerodrome. The state government is planning to use the old aerodrome on 50-50 basis. The Air Force can use 50 per cent of the aerodrome for its flights and the remaining 50 per cent can be given to the proposed airport for commercial operations,” the sources said.

The Warangal airport proposal will gain momentum once the Textile Park comes up in the city. Textile businessmen will come from Solapur, Tirupur and Surat to Warangal.

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS