Guwahati: The work for the proposed Greenfield airport at Kohima would start after getting approval from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, minister P Paiwang Konyak on Thursday said.
Responding to a starred question raised by MLA Yitachu on the status of the Kohima airport, Konyak said only after the approval, sanctioning of the requisite fund for the project would be made by the Union Cabinet.
Konyak said the Nagaland government purchased suitable land for the proposed airport in 2006 and 2007, measuring an area of 1013.72 acres in line with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) policy of “Purchase and Transfer”.
He said a study was carried out in 2008, and the first DPR was prepared in 2010 but became obsolete.
The minister said when the government issued an advertisement for a tender seeking for preparation of a DPR, no one turned up.
“Therefore, the Airports Authority was requested to prepare a DPR and accordingly, two DPRs were prepared. One was for a runway length of 2,200 metres at 1,434 Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) which can fly ATR 72 with load restriction and A-320 Airbus with load restriction, estimated at Rs 5,695 crore,” he said.
“The other DPR was for a runway length of 2,750 metres at 1,412 AMS which can fly ATR 72 without load restriction and A-320 Airbus without load restriction, estimated at Rs 8,890 crore,” he added.
He informed that the state government has obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Defense, and the Department of Transport is rigorously pursuing the sanction of the Greenfield airport.
Konyak further said the purchased land is also ready to be transferred to the AAI for the construction of the proposed Greenfield Airport.