By IANS
Chandigarh : The central government has cleared the decks for setting up an international airport at Mohali town in Punjab adjoining state capital Chandigarh, ruling Akali Dal working president Sukhbir Badal said Thursday.
Badal, also an MP, said the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had granted the clearance for the international airport after a high-level meeting Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by the prime minister’s principal secretary T.K.A. Nair, Defence Secretary Vijay Singh, Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla, Airports Authority of India Chairman K. Rama Raman, Punjab Chief Secretary R.I. Singh and Punjab’s Civil Aviation Secretary Vishwajeet Khanna.
Badal said that the central government had agreed to stake-sharing in the airport project, with 49 percent for the state and 51 percent for the centre.
The existing infrastructure of the civil-cum-defence airport at Chandigarh would be integrated into the Mohali international airport.
Earlier moves to set up an international airport at Chandigarh did not materialise, as the ministry of defence had not accorded the clearance. The existing Chandigarh airport is used for civil as well as Indian Air Force (IAF) flights.
The Punjab government has already announced that the international airport at Mohali would be named after freedom fighter Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.
The new airport is likely to give a big boost to Punjab’s economy and facilitate travel for a large number of non-resident Indians (NRIs), who currently use New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi international airport for their journeys.
The Rajasansi international airport at Amritsar has also grown tremendously in recent years with nearly 65 international flights per week.