AAI, state mull new airport near Navsari

Surat: Even as international operations from Surat airport look a distant possibility, plans to build another airport, much bigger than the present one, are under serious consideration.
The alternate airport is proposed somewhere near Jalalpore in Navsari district, a location that could benefit people of the twin cities of Navsari and Surat. The proposal was discussed in the meeting between Airport Authority of India (AAI) chairman and Gujarat chief secretary on February 23. Apart of development of the exisiting airport, the meeting also discussed developing an alternate airport for which the state government agreed to identify few sites and forward the coordinates to AAI for examination.

This has been revealed in AAI ‘s reply given to RTI query raised by activisit Rajesh Modi. AAI chairman had wri-tten to the CS on February 2 for a meeting to discuss and finalize land requirement for future development of Surat airport. In a note forwarded to AAI on September 22, 2017, Surat district collector had stated that the required government-owned land of about 1,000-1,500 hectares was identified near Jalalpore taluka in Navsari district.

The proposed site is about 35km from Surat but the distance could be reduced to about 15-20km by constructing a bridge over Mindhola river. The site is also just about 15-20km from Navsari and the airport will serve the twin cities. The collector further stated that many important projects are planned under directions of Gujarat government but they have been affected by AAI guidelines as their locations are either in air funnel of the airport runway or near the airport.
The district collector noted that apart from public projects, many private residential and commercial projects in the city are also affected due to building height restriction.
Modi said, “Surat will never get an international airport. Apart from building height restrictions, there are other key safety issues concerning the city and the land acquisition issue. If the airport is shifted in Jalalpore taluka, it will pave way for international operations as there are no restrictions there.”
Further, expansion of Surat airport is not possible as government-owned land is not fully available as majority of the land is privately owned which would delay acquisition. Collector noted that the existing airport will be used till the time new airport is ready at the proposed place.
by via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India