Dholera Intl Airport work fast-tracked

Work on the new Greenfield Dholera International Airport (DIAC) is set to begin soon after the first Board Meeting of the Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL) held late Tuesday evening decided to expedite the process. DIACL is a Joint Venture between the Airports Authority of India, Government of Gujarat & NICDIT. This was its first Board Meeting of the reconstituted Board, after the Airport Authority of India picked up 51% equity stake in the company. The Board Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Shri Guruprasad Mohapatra IAS, Chairman, Airports Authority of India at Gandhinagar. Along with the Board Meeting, a Project review meeting was also held which was attended by senior officials of Airports Authority of India. The meeting focused on the plans to implement the airport project on a fast-track basis. Officials from the Airports Authority of India provided the necessary technical inputs to the concerned state departments as per the requirements of new Greenfield airport. They also requested the state departments to provide requisite support for infrastructure such as road connectivity, electricity supply, water supply, flood mitigation work and earth reclamation. Shri M K Das, Principal Secretary, Industries & Mines Department assured the officials of the Airports Authority of India about full support from all state departments. The airport is set to come up in a Greenfield city under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project at Dholera and will be built over four years. The existing airport at Ahmedabad already has heavy traffic and needed an alternative. Also, with Dholera slated to be the next growth centre for the state, it required a robust transport infrastructure. Considering these factors, Hon. Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Vijay Rupani had given directions for implementation of the new airport project and asked officials to expedite the process. Development of this Greenfield airport is not just likely to improve connectivity but will also become a catalyst for growth of Greenfield city. It will give a further boost to the Dholera SIR project, improve connectivity and create jobs. The airport is being jointly developed by the Airports Authority of India, Government of Gujarat and the National Industrial Corridor Development & Implementation Trust with 51%, 33% & 16% stakes respectively.