Mandi Airport
Mandi Airport is a proposed greenfield airport to be built at Nag Chala[1] in Mandi District in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The airport will be built on a total of 698 acres.[2] The Airports Authority of India (AAI) gave its clearance for the airport after visiting the site in May 2018.[3] In August 2019, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur requested the Fifteenth Finance Commission for a special purpose grant of Rs 2,000 crore towards construction of the airport for operation of wide-body aircraft. The AAI completed its Obstacle Limitation Surfaces survey for the project site in August 2019.[1] The Ministry of Civil Aviation gave in-principle approval for the execution of the project with the help of the AAI in October 2019.[4] In January 2020, AAI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Himachal Pradesh Government to build and operate the airport through a Joint Venture Company. The airport will have a unidirectional runway, suitable for operation of aircraft up to ATR 72 initially.[5]
Mandi Airport | |
|---|---|
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Public |
| Owner | Government of India |
| Operator | Airports Authority of India |
| Serves | Mandi |
| Location | Nag Chala |
| Elevation AMSL | 2,560 ft / 780 m |
| Coordinates | 31°37′23″N 76°56′15″E |
| Map | |
  Mandi Airport  Mandi Airport | |
The Himachal Pradesh government had first proposed an international greenfield airport in the Balh valley of Mandi district to the Union Civil Aviation ministry in 2008.[6] Since the existing airports in the state at Kullu, Kangra and Shimla were only capable of handling small aircraft, the State government was keen to develop a bigger airport at Sundar Nagar that could cater to bigger aircraft and had offered land for the project.[7]
References
- "Thakur demands special grant for Mandi airport". The Tribune. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- "International airport is likely to come up at Balh in Mandi". The Times of India. 11 June 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "Survey for intl airport at Mandi soon". The Tribune. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
- "Himachal gets approval for international standard airport". Outlook. 24 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
- "AAI signed an MoU with Government of Himachal Pradesh for a Greenfield Airport at Nagchala, Himachal Pradesh" (PDF). AAI Press Release. 15 January 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
- "Himachal proposes international airport in Balh valley". Business Standard. 25 August 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
- "Sundernagar to put HP on international air map". The Indian Express. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2019.