Himachal signs joint venture agreement for Mandi Greenfield airport

(Photo: SNS)


A joint venture agreement for the development of Greenfield airport at Nagchala in Mandi district was on Monday signed in the presence of Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia in New Delhi.

The agreement will pave the way for the development of the airport in Mandi which is the dream project of the Chief Minister.

After the signing of the joint venture agreement, the Chief Minister said it will not only improve air connectivity to the state but will also boost tourism besides generating employment opportunities for local youth. The airport will also enable wide-bodied aircraft which also includes the landing of international flights.

The Greenfield Airport will be developed with a proposed runway of 3,150 meters for which land 2,840 Bighas has been identified. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has also conducted the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) survey, he added.

Thakur stated that according to OLS and LIDAR survey reports, the airport at Mandi is feasible and suitable for round the year operations along with night landing and operation of AB-320 type of aircraft.

The Chief Minister also requested for the landing of ATR 42-600 in Shimla airport and for flight operations to Shimla-Kullu-Dharamshala under Udan-II as priority area routes.

The Chief Minister further requested to extend the Chandigarh-Dharamshala route to Chamba under Udan-II besides extending Shimla-Rampur up to Kinnaur.

The Union Minister assured of all possible support to the state.

Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh gave valuable input during the discussion.

AAI Chairman, Sanjeev Kumar, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal, Tourism and Civil Aviation principal secretary Devesh Kumar, senior officers of AAI, and the state government were present on this occasion.