Zee Business: Gujarat: Thursday, July 12, 2018.
It is nothing
but a big news for Navsari district. It is now official that a new
international airport will be built in Navsari. It is expected to get
operationalised in a couple of years. The big airport at Navsari may be
announced before 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, Surat airport will cater
to domestic travel and limited international operations, Times of India
reported.
A Right to
Information (RTI) Act reply revealed that the state govt and Airports Authority
of India (AAI) are searching for land in Navsari district for the new airport.
According to
a report in Times of India, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of chief
secretary JN Singh and AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra. It was decided in the
meeting that the government will look for three to four sites within the radius
of 40 km from Surat airport to develop the new facility.
The state
government of Gujarat is looking for 2,000 acres of land within the radius of
40 km of Surat Airport.
After the
state govt picks the sites, they will be presented in front of the Airport
Authority of India (AAI) for final selection.
One site that
has been proposed is 35 km away from Surat. The distance though can be reduced
by constructing a bridge over Mindhola river. After the construction of the
bridge, the distance will decrease and will remain up to 15-20 km. It is also
just 15-20 km from Navsari.
AAI
guidelines have affected many planned projects by Gujarat government. The
proposed locations of these projects are near the Surat airport air funnel or runway.
Surat Diamond
Bourse (SBD) at Diamond Mercantile (DREAM) city with the height of 73 meters
and as per AAI at 54 meters, Multi Modal Transportation Hub (MMTH) at Surat
railway station with height of 200 meters and as per AAI at 100 meters, high-rise
multi-stories government office buildings for Surat Municipal Corporation with
height of 180 meters and as per AAI at 100 meters, etc are the few examples
that are mentioned by the district collectorate.