Federa airport gets wings with govt nod

Adani group no longer interested to develop airport

Ahmedabad region is all set to get yet another international airport. The Aviation ministry has already accorded its nod to a greenfield airport project that will come up between Ahmedabad and Dholera.

As part of the early bird projects under Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), prepared in consultation with respective state governments, it was envisaged to develop an international airport between Ahmedabad and Dholera in Gujarat, an aerotropolis near Jaipur in Rajasthan; and an international airport in Uttar Pradesh. This information was given by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Praful Patel in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha recently.

The airport which will predominantly handle cargo, will come up about 90 kms away from Ahmedabad. A team of aviation department was here recently to give final touches to the project, said sources familiar with the development.

Though the stage is set for a new airport between Ahmedabad and Dholera, Adani group is no longer interested in developing the airport. "Our primary interests remain in ports, power and energy related development and coal mining and trading. We have no interests in developing airports," said a senior official of Adani group.

Earlier, Adani group had shown interest in developing the airport project. The company had also studied the area. Besides Adani, JK Group has also envisaged interest in the project in the past, industry sources said. However, JK Group has also decided to pull back from it, said an official of JK Group.

"Acquiring about 5 km land for the runway is a herculean task. Being a low lying area there is problem of water logging in Federa region. As a result, the cost of construction is very high," said an industry expert familiar with the project.

In February this year, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has giventhe much-needed technical clearance to the greenfield international airport at Federa village, according to reports.

Federa was earmarked by the state government two years ago due to its strategic importance. It has a logistic proximity to Dholera, which falls under the influence of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC). The airport, spread over 28 sq km, will have two different runways for takeoff and landing in about 4.5 km.

Besides, the Japanese government is aiming to set up a 'mini Japan' in Federa-Dholera region.

The state government issued a notification to the Dholera SIR Regional Development Authority (DSRDA) in February this year. The authority will create the necessary infrastructure and make land allotments to units proposing to set up their operations here.

The government has already notified about 1 lakh hectares of land in 22 villages in the region and an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore is expected to flow in the region.