'Chandigarh International airport to boost industry'

The Chandigarh International Airport, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister on September 11, will prove to be the "harbinger" of regional development with industry representatives expecting the new terminal to boost various industry verticals located in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The Rs 485 crore airport will be operated and maintained by Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL). It is a joint venture of Airports Authority of India (AAI), governments of Punjab and Haryana.
In this JV, AAI has 51 per cent stake while Punjab and Haryana have 24.5 per cent equity each.
"The new Chandigarh international airport will be the harbinger of regional development as it will provide fillip to industry present in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh," Federation of Indian Exporters Association (FIEO), President, S C Ralhan said today.

Industrialists will now look forward to capitalize on the immense business opportunities this airport will offer, provided flights to major countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Europe commence, he said.
"This airport will offer access to various companies which want to open corporate offices in Chandigarh. It will benefit services sector like IT, hospitality," CII, Chairman (Chandigarh Council), Amarbir Singh said.

Industry insiders said the airport will also be beneficial for a lot of Punjabi NRIs as they could land here instead of Delhi.
Sunil Dutt, Chief Executive Officer, Chandigarh International Airport, said that the terminal was 100 per cent ready for operation.

"After the inauguration of the airport, it will take 2-4 weeks to shift the operation of domestic flights from existing terminal in Chandigarh to new terminal at Mohali in Punjab," he said adding that the existing airport building will be used for other civil aviation purposes.
Both domestic and international flights will be operated from the new airport, once it is functional.
The new airport will have the capacity to handle 1,000 passengers, he informed.