A seven-member team of Airports Authority of India (AAI), directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and ministry of environment, forest and climate change arrived in Kohima to study the feasibility of a greenfield airport at Ciethu, 20 kms from the state capital.
Before leaving for Ciethu in the morning on Wednesday, Nagaland minister for transport and civil aviation Paiwang Konyak told media persons the central team will examine the feasibility of setting up the airport. He said they will conduct the survey in a span of five to 10 days together with officials from state transport department.
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Konyak said around 350 acres of land have been purchased for the project which is likely to cost Rs 645 crore. He hoped the Centre will approve the latest survey report by AAI and DGCA.
The survey for the ambitious Ciethu greenfield airport was first conducted in 2006 but it was nullified as the survey report was reportedly “incomprehensive”.
Konyak said the project will finally take shape with the help of the Centre and the state government.
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The central officials said it is expected that the airport will be operational by 2021 if everything goes well as planned. The team will submit its report to the Centre in the next 10 days, they said.
AAI joint general manager SD Tiwari, who is heading the team, said they will carry out a fresh survey at the airport site as the earlier report has been “nullified”.
“The state government’s survey by its own team has relevant information. We will submit both the reports to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation for consideration,” he added.
Once the project gets the Centre’s approval, Nagaland will have a second aerodrome close to the state capital. The state presently has one airport in Dimapur.