The Kalaburagi airport was formally handed over to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) on Saturday for commercial operations. It will now connect Bengaluru with the backward Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
The Kalaburagi airport has been selected for flight operations under the UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme.
Alliance Air and Ghodawat Air Private Limited have been qualified as ‘Selected Airline Operator (SAO)’ for Kalaburagi-Bengaluru-Kalaburagi, Kalaburagi-Hindon-Kalaburagi and Kalaburagi-Tirupati-Kalaburagi routes, according to a statement by the state government.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between the state-run Karnataka Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) and the AAI. As a result, the Kalaburagi airport will be developed, operated and maintained by the AAI as a functional airport, the government said.
The government cleared the Kalaburagi greenfield airport project in March 2007.
Initially, work on the airport started on the public-private partnership by Gulbarga Airport Developers Limited (GADL), a consortium of Maytas Infra Ltd, NCC Infra Holdings & VIE India. After an investment of Rs 25 crore, Gulbarga Airport Developers Limited could not complete the works. The contract was terminated.
The government then took over the project, spending Rs 22 crore to acquire 742 acres land and Rs 208 crore on construction works. The airport work was undertaken by the Public Works Department with technical guidance from RITES India Pvt Ltd. The first trial flight runs were done in August 2018.
“The signing of the agreement will open the doors of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region in terms of aviation connectivity to Bengaluru and also
to the entire country. It will facilitate the overall economic development of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region,” the government said.