The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a proposal on Tuesday for the development of Phase I of a new greenfield airport in Dholera, Gujarat, at a cost of Rs 1,305 crore and a timeline of 48 months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi officiated the CCEA.
Addressing a press conference about cabinet decision, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said, “Union cabinet approves development of phase I of new greenfield airport at Dholera. The Dholera International Airport Company Ltd will construct it and 1,501 hectares of land made available for this.”
“Initial passenger traffic is estimated to be three lakh passengers per annum, expected to grow to 23 lakh over a period of 20 years. The annual cargo traffic is also estimated from the year 2025-26 at 20,000 tonne, which would increase to 2.73 lakh tonne over a period of 20 years,” Thakur said.
Dholera International Airport Company Limited (DIACL) is a joint venture company consisting of the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the Government of Gujarat (GoG), and the National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT), with a 51:33:16 equity ratio.
Dholera Airport will serve the Dholera Special Investment Zone (DSIR) with passenger and cargo traffic, and is anticipated to become a significant cargo hub for the industrial region. This airport will service the surrounding region as well as Ahmedabad as a secondary airport.
Ahmedabad Airport is 80 kilometres away from the New Greenfield Airport at Dholera. The airport is expected to be operational between 2025 and 2026.
