Hassan To Get An Airport
The estimated cost of the first phase is Rs 50 crore and of the second phase Rs 60 crore, taking the total cost to Rs 110 crore. But officials assert that the second phase would be taken up only after assessing the commercial viability of the first phase.
The project nevertheless has been given a kick start. No detailed feasibility study has been done. The detailed project report is yet to be prepared. The job has been assigned to the public sector Airport
Authority of India (AAI) which is to execute the project. The report is expected to be ready in about two months. Steps for environmental and other mandatory clearances, therefore, can be initiated only thereafter.
But preparations are afoot to complete the project in record time. Sources say funds for the first phase can be arranged from AAI's own resources. But the civil aviation ministry is also said to be in the process of preparing a case for the planning commission to provide additional funds.
The foundation stone of the airport was laid at the existing airstrip at Bhuvanahalli, 17 km from Hassan on the national highway to Bangalore, by the Prime Minister himself on August 23. Civil aviation minister C M Ibrahim, who also belongs to Karnataka, was present on the occasion.
It appears the plan is to upgrade the airstrip to a full-fledged airport. The airstrip was hardly in use, except a few on occasions when it was used as for landing helicopters of vsitin Karnataka ministers. Deve Gowda used the airstrip on his last two trips as Prime Minister.
Way back in 1971, there was a proposal to set up an airport in Hassan. About 174 acres of land had also been procured. But the idea fell through largely because the anticipated traffic flow was too low to make the project viable.
The project was thus in a limbo until now.
The speed at which the project has been resurrected within a few months of the Gowda government assuming power at the centre has surprised
many. The question being asked is: why this special status to one district town when there are so many
districts in the country which can claim the same treatment?
Doubtless, Hassan has a strong point. The area has tremendous industrial and tourism potential. The state government proposes to make a good investment for industrial development of the area. The promised investment could be as high as Rs 3,000 crore.
According to sources in Bangalore, ten days before Deve Gowda's trip to Hassan last month, the airport authority chairman along with a technical team visited the airstrip.AAI chairman H M Shahul strongly denies that there is any political consideration in selecting the site.
He also denies that there was a directive from the civil aviation ministry to pet up this project. He says this is his own decision.
The ministry only gave a general direction for setting up regional airports to promote regional airlines. Karnataka's case is strong because it will need it badly when it sets up a regional airline. Shahul says several airlines also wanted an airport here. But he declined to give their names. His assumption is that the airport can be used by Indian Airlines also since it is planning to acquire 50-seater planes. Private operators also can use it because the place has a lot of tourism potential. Besides, the state government gave a cost-free land and is pressing for it.
He says it is just incidental that the Prime Minister belongs to that place and that it is his (former) constituency. No word is available from airport authority on whether it is developing any other district airport of a similar kind. The four airports it is currently working on are all in remote and inaccessible areas. these ar ebeing set up specifically on socio-economic grounds. They are: Rajauri, Kargil and Kistwar (all in Jammu and Kashmir), Tura in Meghalaya, Lingpai in Mizorem and Androth in Lakshadeep.
The particulars of the Hassan project are:
n A 6,000 feet long runway to permit operations of up to 50-seaters, with a terminal building for use of 150 passengers at a time; allied communication and safety installations.
Land requirement 150 acres being provided free of cost by the state government.
n The runway to be extended to 9,000 feet in the second phase to enable large jetliners such as Boeing/Airbuses to use it. Additional land requirement is 200 acres. Additional funds required Rs 60 crore.
The completion period is about four years -- one and a half years to two years in the first phase and the rest in the second phase.There seems to be strong backing in Karnataka for the move to set up the Hassan airport. Hassan is among the designated growth centres in the state and some icentives have been provided to attract industries to the area. The state has acquired over 3000 acres for the growth centre and has already cleared projects worth over Rs 3600 crore. Among them are a one million tonnes per annum hot rolled coil plant costing Rs 2937 crore to be set up by Raunaq Singh's Apollo group, Dalmia Cements Rs 177 crore project, a Rs 525 crore coconut-based food processing unit by Bhandari Udyog, a Rs 730 crore mild steel ingots and rerolling mill by Andhra Ispat group and another Rs 355 crore food processing proejct of P C Exports. Most of these are expected to take shape within three years. The Karnataka industries department feels Hassan would emerge as an industrial hub.
There is a bit of state chauvinism too. "If the airstrip does not get upgraded, we will develop it as a major airport in the state," says a senior official with Karnataka State Industrial Investment and Development Corporation, the nodal agency for setting up the state's own airline for which it is looking for partners. There are at least five operational airports in Karnataka. They are at Bangalore, Belgaon, Mangalore, Mysore and Bellari. In addition, a consortium of Singapore companies, Tatas and the US giant Raytheon has already proposed to construct an international airport at Bangalore.