The Central Government has given clearance for a greenfield airport project at Hirasar, about 28 km from Rajkot in Gujarat, at a cost of over INR 14 billion (#1059.25). The State government has proposed a new airport for Rajkot district as the existing one is small and the earlier plan to extend its runway could not materialize because of space limitations and high land cost. “The Environment Ministry has given the environment clearance to the Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Ltd (GSAICL) for development of a greenfield airport at Rajkot,” a senior Government official said. The green clearance given to the project after taking into account the Ministry’s expert panel, is subject to certain riders. It would be a single runway airport for operating ‘C’ category aircraft. The proposed project will be built in an area of 1,025.54 hectares, of which 96.48% are Government land. According to the GSAICL, the proposed project will aid development of trade and tourism besides improving regional connectivity in Gujarat. More than 1,000 persons will be employed directly and indirectly for different activities of the airport. As many as 2,180 trees will be cut on the proposed airport site. About 632.24 hectares of forest land will also be diverted for the airport. -- All eleven airports in Gujarat have a moderate air-traffic growth of 5% to 8% with exceptions of Ahmedabad and Vadodara where traffic growth is between 8% and 10%, according to the Airport Authority of India (AAI). The holistic development of the Rajkot airport will not only serve demand generated by Rajkot City but also cater to demand in the neighbouring states. Over a due course of time, the proposed airport will also meet the spillover needs of Ahmedabad, it said in the report submitted by GSAICL to the Central Government along with the proposal. #1060.3