Gujarat government plans to develop 11 new airports in state

Gujarat government is planning to develop 11 new airports in the state, the assembly was informed on Monday.

In a written reply to a question, minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel said that the government was planning airports at Dwarka, Ambaji, Palitana, Ankleshwar, Dahej, Morbi, Rajkot, Parsoli, Rajpipla, Dholera and Dholavera.

Justifying the reasons for setting up a slew of airports, he said that the airports at Dwarka, Ambaji and Palitana were being set up to provide air connectivity to these popular pilgrim places.

A special economic zone is being developed in Dahej, while Dholera has been declared as a special investment region (SIR). Dholavera in Kutch is a famous archaeological site with evidence of ancient civilisation and an airport here is expected to give boost to tourism, he said.

The minister further informed that pre-feasibility study for airports at Dwarka, Ambaji and Palitana was awarded to Airport Authority of India, Delhi of which study for Dwarka was already complete.

Patel said that at present there were eight airports in the state that are managed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) at Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhavnagar, Porbander, Rajkot, Kandla, Deesa and Keshod.

Three airports in Nalia, Bhuj and Jamnagar were under the Indian Air Force (IAF) while three airports in Amreli, Mehsana and Mandvi were being managed by the state aviation department. Besides, there were two private airports in the state, one in Mundra and another in Mithapur, Jamnagar, he informed.