Centre decides to fast-track Adilabad Airport: Kishan Reddy

Hyderabad: The Centre has decided to fast-track the development of Adilabad Airport and a Joint User Airfield(JUA) to strengthen the regional connectivity, said Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said.

After attending a follow-up review meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Civil Aviation K Ram Mohan Naidu, along with Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Civil Aviation officials, in Delhi on Saturday, he said the meeting decided to expedite the planning and ensure coordination. The Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation and State Governments would each nominate a nodal officer by the end of next week to take up the project in mission mode. Further, the meeting has also decided to expedite the preparation of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) and Master Plan for the Joint User Airport (JUA). “This is great news for the people of Telangana, especially for the North Telangana regions. Years of persistence, meetings, letters, and follow-ups have finally delivered for the people of Adilabad,” he added. Kishan Reddy recalled that he had written a letter to Rajnath Singh in January 2025 requesting the establishment of a full-fledged Air Force Station at Adilabad, highlighting Adilabad’s ability to cater to the nation’s defence capabilities owing to the strategic importance of the region and the need for strengthening aviation infrastructure and regional connectivity in North Telangana. Subsequently, in April 2025, the Defence Minister responded positively and announced that the Ministry of Defence is ready to develop the existing Indian Air Force airfield at Adilabad as a Joint User Airfield (JUA) and to provide necessary assistance in the matter.

The Union Minister said, “The IAF already has 369.45 acres of land, and it needs an additional 1,500 acres from the State to support infrastructure, including trainer aircraft, visiting-aircraft parking dispersal areas, weather shelters, aircraft hangars, an operational complex, training facilities, and maintenance infrastructure facilities. On the civilian side, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) would set up a Civil Terminal and a Maintenance and Repair Operations (MRO) facility.” In addition, the project will need a domestic setup for defence personnel, including single living quarters, married personnel quarters, sports and recreational facilities, and essential amenities. He said dedicated engineering utilities such as water supply and sanitation will have to be developed.

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