Rajkot Greenfield Airport

Rajkot Greenfield Airport is a greenfield airport to be built at Hirasar, Gujarat, India[2] near the National Highway (NH-8B) connecting Ahmedabad and Rajkot. It is planned as a single runway airport for the operation of ‘C’ category aircraft.[3]

Rajkot Greenfield Airport
Summary
OwnerAirports Authority of India
ServesAhmedabad and Rajkot
LocationHirasar
Coordinates22°23′17″N 71°01′42″E
Maps
Rajkot Greenfield Airport
Location in Gujarat (Proposed)
Rajkot Greenfield Airport
Rajkot Greenfield Airport (India)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
05/23[1] 9,974 3,040

The airport is being developed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) at a cost of ₹2,654 crore (US$370 million).[4]

History

The site clearance approval for the airport was granted by the Government of India in May 2017. Prime Minister Narendra Modi presided over the groundbreaking ceremony held on 7 October 2017. The Union ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEF) accorded environmental clearance (EC) to the project on 10 October 2017.[5]

Land acquisition issues delayed the tendering process by a few months.[6] Afcons, Dilip Buildcon, Gayatri Projects, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Infrastructure were among the bidders for the Engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) tender floated by AAI. The financial bids were opened on 9 August 2018 and Reliance emerged as the lowest bidder.[3] The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for the project on 28 February 2019.[7] Subsequently, in March 2019, Reliance Infrastructure was awarded the EPC contract worth ₹648 crore (US$91 million) to construct the airport. The construction is to be completed within 30 months.[8] The contract also requires the contractor to provide operation and maintenance services for a period of two years following the commissioning of the project.[3] The Central Government had initially sanctioned ₹1,405 crore (US$200 million) for the project,[9] but revised the amount in June 2019 to ₹2,654 crore (US$370 million).[4]

Infrastructure

The airport will be capable of handling Airbus A320 type of aircraft and will have a rainwater harvesting system, solar power system and a green belt along its periphery to act as a noise barrier.

The airport, measuring 2,534 acres (10.25 km2), will be situated 27 kilometres from the existing Rajkot airport, whose capacity is constrained and cannot be expanded because of commercial development around it.

References
  1. "Environmental Impact Assessment Study" (PDF). Engineers India Limited. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. "Brief Description New Greenfield Airport at Rajkot" (PDF). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  3. "RInfra emerges lowest bidder for greenfield Hirasar airport in Gujarat". The Hindu Business Line. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  4. "Rs 7,737 crore okayed for Dholera, Hirasar airports". The Times of India. 29 June 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  5. "New Rajkot airport gets green nod". The Times of India. 14 October 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  6. "Land acquisition delays new airport tender". The Times of India. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  7. "Cabinet approves development of New Greenfield Airport at Hirasar, Rajkot, Gujarat". Press Information Bureau. 28 February 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  8. "Reliance Infrastructure Limited wins bid for greenfield airport in Rajkot for ₹ 648 crore". The Hindu. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  9. "Narendra Modi in Gujarat: PM presides over 'bhumi pujan' of greenfield airport at Hirasar near Rajkot". Firstpost. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
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