AAI close deal with Gujarat for Dholera airport project by next month

By Realty Quarter Bureau

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was likely to finalise a deal with the Gujarat government by next month for the proposed Rs 2,000crore Dholera airport, a senior state official said.

“We have already sent the proposal to them (AAI) and they have accorded in-principle approval for it. We hope that by mid-August we will be able to finalise it,” chief secretary, Gujarat government, Jagdip Narayan Singh told.

The airport is set to come up in Greenfield city under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project at Dholera and will be built over four years.

“We are hopeful that the project will also move to the Department of Economic Affairs for further approvals by that time,” he added.

Speaking about the need for the airport, Singh explained that Ahmedabad already had heavy traffic and needed an alternative. He said Dholera would be the next growth centre for the state, with a need for robust transport infrastructure.

“This airport will not just improve connectivity but will also become a catalyst for growth of the Greenfield city,” he said.

The total cost of the project is expected to be around Rs 2,000crore and equity participation between AAI and Gujarat has been agreed at 51% and 49%, respectively.

In its initial proposal, the government had offered to maintain 74% stake in the project, which AAI refused to accept.

Dholera Industrial City Development’s managing director Jai Prakash Shivahare said many companies had already shown interest to set up businesses in this new city, which we planned to make a hub for defence manufacturing. “In the defence sector, companies require huge land parcels like 400 to 500 hectares. Such large land parcels are not available anywhere else in the country now,” he said.

“We have land parcels as large as 750 hectares and are hopeful of completing the work for the first phase of development by 2019. We are getting many queries from potential investors in the defence sector,” Shivahare added.