Gujarat's Dholera airport project gets environmental clearance

Gujarat government's ambitious Dholera airport project at Navagam village near the city has received environmental clearance from the Centre.
The Central Forest, Environment and Climate Change department has communicated the same through a letter sent to the Dholera International Airport Company, a Special Purpose Vehicle created by the state government, an official release stated.
Upon receiving the clearance, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi on behalf of people of Gujarat, the release said.
The proposed airport project, which is part of proposed Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), will come up in 1,426 hectares of land near Navagam at a cost of Rs 1,712 crores.

This project of building a world-class airport, about 30 kms from here, will be developed in three phases. As per the project report prepared by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), Rs 716 crore would be spent in the first phase of the project, the release stated.
Apart from catering to the needs of Dholera SIR, this multipurpose airport project would also cater to nearby cities of Vadodara, Anand, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Nadiad.
The project has already received a no-objection certificate from Ministry of Defence in 2014, while the Civil Aviation Ministry has also given 'site clearance' in the past.

After this environmental clearance, the state government hopes to get in-principle approvals from the Civil Aviation Ministry by January next year, the release said.