Aviation: A new international airport in Gujarat's Navsari coming soon

It is nothing but a big news for Navsari district. It is now official that a new international airport will be built in Navsari. It is expected to get operationalised in a couple of years. The big airport at Navsari may be announced before 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Meanwhile, Surat airport will cater to domestic travel and limited international operations, Times of India reported.

A Right to Information (RTI) Act reply revealed that the state govt and Airports Authority of India (AAI) are searching for land in Navsari district for the new airport.

According to a report in Times of India, a meeting was held under the chairmanship of chief secretary JN Singh and AAI chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra. It was decided in the meeting that the government will look for three to four sites within the radius of 40 km from Surat airport to develop the new facility.

The state government of Gujarat is looking for 2,000 acres of land within the radius of 40 km of Surat Airport.

After the state govt picks the sites, they will be presented in front of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) for final selection.

One site that has been proposed is 35 km away from Surat. The distance though can be reduced by constructing a bridge over Mindhola river. After the construction of the bridge, the distance will decrease and will remain up to 15-20 km. It is also just 15-20 km from Navsari.

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AAI guidelines have affected many planned projects by Gujarat government. The proposed locations of these projects are near the Surat airport  air funnel or runway.

Surat Diamond Bourse (SBD) at Diamond Mercantile (DREAM) city with the height of 73 meters and as per AAI at 54 meters, Multi Modal Transportation Hub (MMTH) at Surat railway station with height of 200 meters and as per AAI at 100 meters, high-rise multi-stories government office buildings for Surat Municipal Corporation with height of 180 meters and as per AAI at 100 meters, etc are the few examples that are mentioned by the district collectorate.