Rajkot to get new greenfield airport, set to be inaugurated by August 2022

A new greenfield airport at Rajkot, Gujarat is progressing at a good pace and is set to be inaugurated by August 2022, officials said. The new airport is being built on the Ahmedabad-Rajkot highway on over 1,000 hectares of land at an estimated cost of Rs 1,405 crore. Rajkot District Collector Arun Mahesh Babu said that work on the new Greenfield airport at Hirasar is progressing at a good pace and it will be inaugurated soon.

"On the occasion of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahostav’ we are planning to inaugurate the new airport in August subject to clearance from DGCA," Babu said. He further explained that the present airport is in the heart of the city and is suffering from considerable capacity restraints due to residential and commercial buildings, which have been built around it. The present airstrip is incapable of serving aircrafts larger than Airbus 320 or Boeing 737-800.

"At the new airport, runway length is planned for 3040 meters for serving B777-300ER/B747-400 types of aircraft. Out of a total of 1,032 hectares area, 437 hectares is an operational area and 595 hectares is non-operational areas. This will be capable of parking 14 aircraft (four in contact and 10 in remote) at a time. With a total build-up area of 23,000 square meters, the new terminal building of this new airport will be capable of handling 1,280 passengers during peak hours," the Rajkot District Collector said.

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Sharing details of the current status of work, Babu said, "At present, more than 78 percent of earthwork and 75 percent of the runway and other pavement works are completed. The work for the terminal building and ATC tower is also in progress."

Babu pointed out that the new airport will increase economic activity and employment, consumer behaviour change, and it will raise the standard of living of the people in the region. Rajkot is the fourth largest city in Gujarat after Ahmedabad, Surat, and Vadodara.

The ceramic industry of Morbi and other industries of Jamnagar also depend on Rajkot for air connectivity.

(With inputs from IANS)

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