Vijayapura Airport is an under-construction

greenfield airport A greenfield airport is an aviation facility with greenfield project characteristics. The designation reflects certain environmental qualities (using previously undeveloped or empty greenfield land, for example) and commissioning, planning and cons ...

that will serve the city of

Vijayapura Vijayapur is a town in Devanahalli taluk and Bangalore Rural district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Vijayapura's old name is Vadigenahalli. Local villagers still refer Vijayapura as Vadigenahalli. Geography Vijayapura is located at . It has ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The airport is being built by the Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (KSIIDC) at a cost of Rs 220 crore. The project site is located 15 km from the city on of land in Madhabavi, located outside the city premises. The airport is expected to be ready by early 2023.

History

In March 2007, the State government Cabinet approved construction of greenfield airports in Bijapur, Gulbarga and Shimoga to give a boost to the tourism industry. Nineteen companies had responded when the Government called for an Expression of Interest (EoI) in 2007 to develop the airports.Minor Airports
Infrastructure Development Department, Government of Karnataka In January 2010, the Karnataka government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with infrastructure development company MARG Limited for developing a green field airport at Bijapur under a public-private partnership agreement to cater to

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed ...

aircraft. The airside development was to include a 2,500 square metre terminal building, a 1,700 m long runway, aprons, taxiways, hangars, isolated parking bay, a 15 m air traffic control tower, ground support equipment, fuel storage facilities and a fire station. The project came to a halt in 2012, when MARG demanded an additional 1,000 acres of land to build commercial complexes near the airport to make the project economically viable. According to the government, this amounted to a breach of contract signed through the MoU. In 2013, the Government decided to abandon the PPP model and instead sought to partner with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to complete the project. AAI agreed to build Bijapur airport but sought Rs. 50 crore from the State government to start site levelling work, but the State government failed to reply. In February 2019, the KSIIDC sought to develop a ‘no-frills airport’ at the site to boost tourism and business activities. On 9th July 2020, the state cabinet gave approval for the project to be completed by the State Public Works Department. The first Phase would cost Rs 95 crore and was given a deadline of 18 months. The first phase of development includes a 1900-metre runway, along with the associated taxiways and apron. A terminal building to handle 200 passengers during peak hours will also be built to handle

type aircraft. The second phase, costing Rs 125 crore, will be implemented after operations commence. The airport would be expanded to handle larger aircraft like the

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

and

Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first member of the famil ...

based on demand.

References

Airports in Karnataka Proposed airports in Karnataka Buildings and structures in Bijapur district Transport in Bijapur, Karnataka {{India-airport-stub

History

See also

References