Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Saturday said that work on the upcoming Shivamogga airport, which is touted to have facilities on par with the Bengaluru airport, is in progress and instructions have been given to complete it by next June. The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the airport work today at Sogane village, about 12 km from Shivamogga city.
The airport will be well-equipped and next only to Bengaluru airport in terms of facilities, and despite financial difficulties funds have been released and work taken up at a fast phase, Yediyurappa was quoted as saying in an official release. Stating that a lot of development is expected in central Karnataka districts with the opening of this airport, the CM said it would help in all-round development of Shivamogga district, encouraging more industries to come up and in turn generating more jobs.
The Chief Minister noted that the work on the runway, link roads and perimeter roads was in progress and the compound construction has mostly been completed. He said 11,500 metres of the 15,900-meter compound wall work has been completed.
Yediyurappa also unveiled the building design of the airport during the review, the release added.
The cost of the Shivamogga airport has gone up from Rs 220 crore to Rs 384 crore, the government had said a few months ago.
Shivamogga is the political home turf of Yediyurappa, as he represents the Shikaripura constituency in the district, while his son BY Raghavendra is the MP from the Shivamogga constituency.
CM Yediyurappa had on June 15 last year lit a lamp while on a video conference, virtually marking the laying of the foundation stone for the Shivamogga airport.
However, there were fears that the construction of the airport will cause loss of habitat for the Montagu’s Harrier, a European/Central Asian migratory bird that travels to Shivamogga every year, according to a TNM report.