In a bid to enhance the state’s airway connectivity, Karnataka is coming up with four newly constructed airports. This comes as a great news for tourists and all its residents. The state has two operating international airports- the Kempegowda International Airport and the Mangalore Internal Airport. Among dosmestic airports there are the Bellagavi, Hubbali, Kalaburagi, Bidar, Jindal Vijaynagar and Mysore Airports. The four new airports are being referred to as “Greenfield” and are based in tier-II cities like Shivamogga, Vijayapura, Hassan and Raichur.
The Greenfield Airports will improve the connectivity, infrastructure and market of these tier-II cities. Up until now there have been lot of investment done on tier-I cities in Karnataka which has resulted in its immense growth. The government has hence, steered its focus on areas which were comparatively overlooked. The new airports are beneficial for the real estate market. It has increased the production of real estate projects in these places and has channelized the market whose prime focus has been tier-I cities so far. This step will surely balance the population gap that Karnataka faces between a tier-I city to any other part of the state.
As per government officials, the planned greenfield airports will be completed in the next three to four years. Issues of land acquisition and AAI clearances had so far hindered the commencement of the projects. However, with the completion of the land acquisition process for Raichur and Hassan there is a bit of a relief. The Shivamogga Airport is already 45 percent done with a partially completed runway. Work is in progress for approach roads, internal and peripheral road, parking area, compound wall, watch towers, passenger terminal building, and CFR buildings. The estimated cost of the Shivamogga Airport project is Rs 384 Crore. Overall, work of Rs 125 Crore has been done as of now.
Work for Raichur and Hassan Airports is yet to commence. A site office is in the making for the Hassan Airport project. Paperwork and proposals are still ongoing for the Raichur Aiport project. DRP has been submitted for the Raichur greenfield airport and its tender process is to begin soon. Work for Vijayapura Aiport has been slow. According to reports, only earth work has been completed for the construction to begin. The estimated cost of the project is Rs 220 Crore. Work of Rs 49 Crore has been done so far. The overall expenditure of the four greenfield airports is Rs 954 Crore.
The promising greenfield airport projects will address a number of issues, such as, the traffic congestion problem faced by various tier-I cities. The improvement of infrastructure in these lesser known cities will result in migration from the dense populated areas. This is sure to lessen the burden that is quite evident in the main cities of Karnataka. Multiple residential and commercial estates are on the rise within a close proximity to the upcoming airports. Roads are also under construction to facilitate the new greenfield airport projects. There is a bright future that awaits Karnataka and its real estate market. Efficient planning will be the key source for its upcoming success.
