Vijayapura: MP Ramesh Jigajinagi has said that a proposal has been mooted to extend the runway at least by 3 more kilometres to help bigger flight to move. He said that the present airport and runway may not be sufficient for large flight to take off or land.

He said that while the construction is going on, plans can be made to make the runway bigger. “Else in future, if we take up the work, we may have to reconstruct the entire runway which will only lead to wastage of money and may also affect the movement of flights till that time”, he said.

He said that the district needs bigger cargo flights to carry the containers since Vijayapura is known for various horticulture crops such as grape, lime and pomegranate which are being exported to different parts of the country.  

“The project estimate would be given to governments for approval. Hopefully it will be approved while the first and second phase of the project is underway. The proposal will be part of the third phase of the project”, he said.

When the plan to construct the airport was initially made, the government had granted 727acre land for the construction to a private agency at the cost of Rs. 100 crore. The agency withdrew itself from the project citing non-feasibility. The agency demanded additional land for setting up a township.

The contract got terminated when government refused to offer more land by stating that it was against the Memorandum of Understanding. Since then, several efforts were made by successive governments to revive it, however finally on February 15, Chief Minister, B. S. Yediyurappa re-launched the project, and since then the works are undergoing at a faster pace.