Govt nod for pre-feasibility study for airport at Kothagudem

Kothagudem: In what could be called as a major development that gives thrust for the long-standing demand for establishing an airport in the coal town, the Telangana government on Monday accorded administrative sanction for an amount of Rs 4.56 lakh of 50 per cent fee to the Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES) Limited for undertaking the pre-feasibility study for development of an airport at Kothagudem in Khammam district.

It may be mentioned here that a team of officials from RITES, a Government of India Enterprise with specialized consultancy service in the area of design, planning and construction management of airports, inspected the site at Punukuduchelka village in Kothagudem mandal on August 6. After the survey, RITES had urged the government for sanction of 50 per cent mobilization fee recently, according to sources. Following this, the government accorded the administrative sanction.

Presenting a strong case with the Centre, the state government had long ago furnished all the relevant information sought by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) for establishing an airport in Kothagudem, the headquarters of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited. The government had identified 1,600 acres at Punukuduchelka village is about 220 km of aerial distance from Shamshabad airport.

By Adepu Mahender