The imperative of expansion of the airport for the development of Mysuru tourism was impressed by Tourism Minister CP Yogeshwar here on Saturday.
The minister was at the Mysuru airport in Mandakalli and interacted with officials to carry forward the concept of supportiveism announced by him. Discussions revolve around the use of the facility, the process of securing it from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and completing other formalities before the launch of the project.
The minister was made aware of the benefits of Heliturism and officials described it as a project that could promote tourism development in the state. But in the process, officials also underlined the imperative of expanding the airport in Mysuru, saying that this would automatically give the region a boost and increase tourist footpaths.
Mr. Yogeshwar’s attention was drawn to the issue of land acquisition and he was told that 240 acres were needed for expansion and the government should expedite funding for the project, which was to be shifted to 115 acres in the first phase of expansion. is required.
Sources said that officials told that Mysuru MP Pratap Simha had demanded additional funds from the state government and it would be useful if the minister could help expedite the process.
Mysuru attracted more than 3.5 million tourists every year (in pre-pandemic days) and this number could be increased if there was direct flight connectivity to other important centers. However, given the short runway of Mysuru Airport, long haul flights could not be operated and hence the length of the runway had to be increased from 1,740 meters to 2,750 meters.
To connect Mysuru with Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur or other tourist destinations, the length of the airplane can be increased to 2,750 meters and width to 45 meters.
According to the airport master plan, the runway expansion requires about 182 acres of land, while the terminal building expansion requires 58 acres.
The minister was told that the extension of the airstrip rests on land acquisition. The plan entails a runway below which an underpass will be constructed as the Mysuru-Nanjangud Highway aligns the highway runway and cannot be diverted. Even the DGCA has given its approval for the construction of an underpass below the runway and therefore it was up to the state government to speed up the process of land acquisition by releasing funds.
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