State shelves Hisar airport project

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 29

The Haryana Government has said it is not going ahead with the ambitious project to set up a domestic airport here, as the “project is not a viable option”.

Developing Hisar airfield as a domestic airport for passenger or cargo traffic or as a cargo airport is not viable in short and medium term because of Indira Gandhi International Airport and the Chandigarh Airport within the travelling distance of three to four hours; relatively low intrinsic demand for both passenger and cargo traffic in the catchment area and general un-viability of standalone cargo airport and lack of cargo traffic in the project catchment area,” an official release said today.

Instead, the government has planned to set up an integrated aviation hub to cater to the requirements of the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Facility, Fixed Base Operations (FBO) and Aerospace Park. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (HSIIDC) plans to set up the hub, the release said.

“The possibility of setting up a domestic airport or cargo airport may be evaluated in the long run, say by 2022 when the existing facilities become fully saturated,” it said, adding the MRO facility appeared to be a viable project.

The Department of Civil Aviation would shortly float expression of interest to seek suggestions from various stakeholders in the aviation sector. Their inputs will be factored in while preparing the final project report. The hub will become fully operational by 2022.

The MRO facility would include airframe, engine and components, whereas FBO would include parking and transit facilities; fueling and flight planning; lounge and recreational facilities for pilots and crew; accommodation, business centre and conference facilities; charter flight operations and air taxi services. The Aerospace Park will manufacture components for aerospace and defence sectors.

Additional Chief Secretary SS Dillon said the government was in the process of finalising the contours of the project.