State drops idea of greenfield airport

SHILLONG, July 16: The state government has given up on its plans of constructing a greenfield airport at Diengpasoh and is now concentrating on further developing the Shillong Airport at Umroi.
A government official on Sunday told The Shillong Times that Chief Minister, Conrad K. Sangma had written to Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia stating that the government now wants to thoroughly re-examine the technical option and the possibilities available for up-gradation of the Shillong Airport for the operation of A320 or A321 type of aircraft.
Sangma sought the support of the Ministry for initiating the Obstacle Limitation Surface (OLS) survey of the airport to explore the options for facilitating landing of bigger aircraft on the existing runway.
The official said following the request, the survey has been already conducted and the report is awaited.
Sangma also urged the Ministry to upgrade Shillong Airport into an international airport under the regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, to take advantage of Meghalaya’s proximity to Bangladesh and the inflow of tourists from the neighbouring country to the state. The CM mentioned that the state government had explored the possibility of constructing a greenfield airport in 2022 and got the pre-feasibility report but they realized that constructing a new airport would involve a large amount of money and time.
The official said that if the government goes ahead with the greenfield airport project, it would take almost eight years to complete considering the limited working season in Meghalaya and the challenges in acquiring land. The existing airport at Umroi already has an infrastructure catering to smaller flights and with some investment and support, the airport can be definitely upgraded, the official added.