Mysore airport will see 48-seater

The Mysore Mandakalli Airport, for which an MoU was signed on Thursday between the Centre and state in New Delhi, will have the facility to operate 48-seater ATR flights when the first phase is complete.

The state government has already acquired and made available 125 acres to the existing 175 acres for expansion of the airport. An additional 70 acres of land is with the government and reserved for the purpose. Hence, the entire requirement of 370 acres are available now to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), under the agreement.

There will be no financial burden on the state government as the AAI will build the runway and other facilities required for landing of flights. While the state is only required to provide basic infrastructural facilities like electricity, water supply and security. "It will be a time-bound programme," Mysore district incharge minister Tanveer Sait, told reporters, back here after attending the MoU signing in New Delhi.

He expected the work on the expansion to start before November 1 with chief minister Dharam Singh along with Union civil aviation minister Praful Patel, who was present in New Delhi on the occasion, turning the first sod.

AAI chairman K Ramalingam is likely to visit Bangalore in two weeks and it will be finalised at a meeting with industries minister P G R Sindhia.

As Mangalore has certain facilities already, it was proposed at the meeting to upgrade it into an international airport.

For Gulbarga and Hassan airports, the state government has made available Rs 20 crore, the minister said.

On former MP and scion of Mysore royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wodeyar reportedly launching his own air services and seeking 900-acre land for the same, he said there has been no response to the proposal.

The global investors' meet, scheduled in Mysore on October 21-22, has been postponed to the first week of December as the officials concerned have been drawn for Bihar elections, Sait added.