Shivamogga: The airport that is coming up at Sogane near here will be named after former chief minister B S Yediyurappa, Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai said on Wednesday.
The airport, with international standard facilities, will be inaugurated in December this year, he said.
“I’m happy to note that our cabinet has decided to name this as B S Yediyurappa airport. We will send it (proposal) to the Civil Aviation Ministry, Government of India. Once approved, we will issue an order naming the airport before it is commissioned,” Bommai said.
He was speaking after inspecting the ongoing airport work at Sogane on the outskirts of the city.
“The airport is currently under UDAN, a clearance from the Airport Authority of India is required, we will obtain it…we will have ATC and night-landing facilities here. The inauguration will happen in December, before that we will complete all the pending work and open it for the public,” he added.
The Shivamogga airport will have the second longest runway in Karnataka after Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.
Shivamogga is the political base of Yediyurappa, he is the MLA from Shikaripura assembly segment in the district, while his elder son B Y Raghavendra is MP from Shivamogga parliamentary constituency.
Stating that the airport will help all-round development of Shivamogga and surrounding areas, Bommai said it will enhance trade and commerce, and tourism in the region.
While the work on Bijapur Airport along with Shivamogga is under progress, Raichur Airport work will begin this year, and Karwar naval airport work is also underway, he added.
Noting that Yediyurappa as CM had conceptualised Shivamogga airport in 2007-08 itself, Bommai said it was approved in 2008 and was given to private players to develop under public-private partnership (PPP) model, but it did not happen.
“Then, the state government decided to put in money and develop the airport involving the Infrastructure Development Department and PWD department,” he said, adding that the Shivamogga airport will have the second longest runway in the state, about 3,200 metres long and can enable an Airbus aircraft to land.
