Haryana plans aviation hub in Hisar

An aviation hub is being planned in Hisar to cater to the needs of maintenance, repair and overhaul, and other operations in Haryana.
State-owned Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) today said it plans to set up an aviation hub in Hisar to cater to the requirements of the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Facility, Fixed Base Operations (FBO) and Aerospace Park.
"In order to give shape to this ambitious project, the Department of Civil Aviation will shortly float expression of interest to seek suggestions from various stakeholders in the aviation sector," an official spokesman said.
Their inputs will be factored in while preparing the final project report. The hub will become fully operational by 2022, he said.

Giving details, the spokesman said the MRO Facility would include airframe, engine and components, whereas FBO would include parking and transit facilities; fueling and flight planning; lounge and recreational facilities for pilots and crew; accommodation, business centre and conference facilities; charter flight operations and air taxi services.
The Aerospace Park will manufacture components for aerospace and defence sectors, he said.

The project would be developed in a modular manner as each segment requires specific skills, knowledge and regulatory approvals.
Being in the vicinity of two major airports, and having good road and rail connectivity, Hisar lies on two National Highways -- NH-10 (Delhi-Rohtak-Hisar-Sirsa) and NH-65 (Ambala-Kaithal-Hisar-Jodhpur) -- and state highways No 10, 13 and 20 pass through it. The city has real potential for the project.

Besides having four broad gauge railway lines at the station, Hisar is well connected with Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
Given the availability of land, the state government has focused it as a counter-magnet to Delhi NCR, he said.
The spokesman said that the existing infrastructure in Hisar would be suitably used for creating a large aerospace focused facility.
Apart from the 194 acres for the Hisar airport with the Department of Civil Aviation, the area surrounding the airport is also available with the departments of Animal Husbandry, Prisons and Police and the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation (HLRDC).

An area of about 2,000 acres can be made available for the project immediately, he said.
While choosing the aviation project, the government considered some options, including setting up of domestic passenger airport, cargo airport, MRO/FBO facilities and aerospace/defence manufacturing.
The development of Hisar airfield as a domestic airport for passenger or cargo traffic or as a cargo airport was not a viable option in short and medium term because of the Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Chandigarh Airport within the travelling distance of three to four hours, the spokesman said.
Another reason was the relatively low intrinsic demand for both passenger and cargo traffic in the catchment area and general un-viability of standalone cargo airport and lack of cargo traffic in the project catchment area, he said.

The possibility of setting up a domestic airport or cargo airport may be evaluated in the long run, say by 2022 when the existing facilities become fully saturated, he added.