Hyderabad: After getting Indian garment major Kitex to Warangal, industries minister K.T. Rama Rao is seriously working on getting an airport to Warangal.
The state government had submitted proposals to the Centre to revive Mamnoor airport on Warangal outskirts in 2018, which is lying pending.
Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and Rama Rao met union civil aviation ministers on multiple occasions earlier and sought revival of Mamnoor airports, considered India's largest airport during the Nizam era. It was closed in 1981.
"We will absolutely make it happen. Working on Warangal airport," tweeted Rama Rao on Saturday.
Rama Rao's tweet was in response to a tweet made by a netizen, Srikanth Giddey, who tweeted, "KTR garu, Warangal needs your help to get an airport so that it can get it's upliftment that was pending due from a long time. Earlier governments in united Andhra didn't care for Warangal's betterment. We would be very grateful to you for the same."
Official sources said Rama Rao has decided to send a delegation of senior officials soon to Delhi to pursue the case with the Centre.
He asked officials to keep the required 400 acres ready for airport expansion to meet current needs. The DPR (detailed project report) of Mamnoor airport is expected to be ready in a month after which the state government will speed up land acquisition.
In the Budget 2021-22, the government has sanctioned `100 crore towards development of civil aviation facilities in the state. The amount was allocated towards payment of fees to the Airports Authority of India and other preliminary examinations for setting up airports.
In August 2020, Rama Rao met the then civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri and urged him to include Mamnoor airport in ‘Udaan scheme’ to improve regional connectivity.
The government already secured TEFR (techno economic feasibility report) from AAI for setting up new airport and only the DPR is awaited.
In April this year, the civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola called on Chandrasekhar Rao in Hyderabad. The latter explained the need to set up six airstrips in Telangana, including Mamnoor.
