An official said the airport has been built at a cost of Rs 520 crore. (Express photo by Tashi Tobgyal/File)Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate the Chipi airport in Sindhudurg district on Tuesday.
Officials said the greenfield airport has been constructed at Parule Chipi village in Sindhudurg district by IRB Sindhudurg Airport on a design-build-finance-operate-transfer basis for the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. While it has a 2,500-metre long runway, the airport will have a capacity to handle 200 departing and 200 arriving passengers during peak hours. It will be the state’s 14th airport, an official said.
Deepak Kesarkar, Minister of State for Home (Rural) and Sindhudurg’s guardian minister, said work on the airport had been fast-tracked in the last four and half years. “All permissions for the airport have been received and flight operations can start in the next 10-15 days. It will boost tourism in the district,” Kesarkar said.
An official said the airport has been built at a cost of Rs 520 crore. “The airport will serve the purpose of affordable connectivity to the Konkan region. Now travelers have to to Goa or Pune to come to Sindhudurg. Now, they will be able to go there directly,” Kesarkar added.
