Karnataka CM Yediyurappa lays foundation stone for Shivamogga airport

The project plan was revised in December and the chief minister had approved a grant of Rs 40 crore for the same

Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday laid the foundation via video conferencing for the construction of a greenfield airport at Shivamogga district.

The airport is to be built at Sogane Village, 8.8 km from Shivamogga and 8.2 km from Bhadravathi. In December 2019, the state government revised the cost from Rs 40 crore to Rs 150 crore to construct the airport under Public–private partnership (PPP).

Irked over the lackadaisical attitude of concerned officials, Yediyurappa in December had warned concerned authorities and gave them a deadline to finish Shivamogga airport project in six months.

For a full range of flights to fly at Shivamogga airport, the runway length needs to be extended from 1.2 km to 2.1 km. It was decided in the meeting that the expenses for extending the runway would be borne by the state government. It is necessary to revise the cost of construction of the airport from Rs 40 crore to Rs 150 crore, Yediyurappa had said in the earlier meeting.

Yediyurappa had ordered the department of public works to implement the station work in two stages. He ordered the construction of a compound wall at the airport by the end of December and commence other works by February.

It was decided to prepare a detailed project report for the construction of the airport in two phases with the help of the Rights organisation.