Karnataka would build a greenfield airport in Vijayapura for providing regional air connectivity, northwest of the state, an official said on Friday.
“The new airport is being built on the outskirts of Vijayapura in northwestern Karnataka at a price of 220 rupees to ensure air links and boost economic activity in the backward region of the state,” said the official a day after the cabinet agreed.
“Construction work such as ground leveling and construction of runways, taxiways, aprons and passenger terminals will begin soon after the state government releases Rs 95 crore for the first year of project work,” added the official.
Vijayapura, formerly known as Bijapur, is located 540 km northwest of Bengaluru in the southern state.
When completed in the next 18 to 24 months, Vijayapura Airport will be the 9th in the state to operate on feeder routes as part of the central government’s regional Udan connectivity scheme.
“Although Vijayapura is connected to the road and rail networks, the flight will shorten travel time to cities like Bengaluru and Mangalore from where passengers take flights to overseas destinations,” as per the official statement.
Other regional airports across the state are located in Mysore, Hubballi, Belagavi, Bidar and Kalaburagi. A new airport is currently under construction in Shivamogga in the Malnad region in central Karnataka.
As part of the Deccan Plateau on the southern peninsula, Vijayapura is a historic city that dates back to the reign of the Kalyani Chalukyas in the 10th and 11th centuries and was the capital of the Adil Shahi Kingdom after the Bahmanian Sultanate conquered it from the Yadavas .
“The flight connection will also promote tourism in the region, which has monuments, forts, tombs, mosques, temples and Sufi shrines. Bijapur Fortress, Bara Kaman, Jama Masjid and Gol Gumbaz are popular tourist attractions,” added the official.
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