Centre approves three airports in AP

The site clearance was granted in January for greenfield airports at "Three locations in Andhra Pradesh namely Dagadarthi Mendal in Nellore, Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram and Oravakallu in Kurnool and one location in Rajasthan namely Bhiwadi in Alwar", Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said.

 Various proposals have been received for setting up greenfield airports in many states including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, Sharma said.

According to him, a decision has been taken to close the existing Vishakapatnam airport for civilian operations once the new airport at Bhogapuram becomes operational.

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, he said, this year, the ministry has granted in-principle approval for setting up a greenfield airport at Dholera in Gujarat.

The minister said that proposals have been received for having greenfield airports at various locations. These include "Sholapur and Bolera (Amrawati) in Maharashtra, Annakara (Idduki) in Kerala, Dwarka in Gujarat, Gwalior and Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, Androth in Lakshadweep, Kothagudem (Khammam) in Telangana, Jewar in Uttar Pradesh and Chingleput (Chennai) in Tamil Nadu," he noted.