On Tuesday, Om Birla, the speaker of the Lok Sabha, presided over a high-level review meeting to discuss the Kota-Bundi Greenfield Airport. The purpose of the discussion was to examine the project’s deadlines, significant infrastructure needs, and current status.

Senior officials from the Airports Authority of India were present at the meeting, which took place at the office of the Lok Sabha Speaker within the Parliament House complex.

Video conferencing allowed officials from many agencies to participate in the review conference. These departments included the Forest Department, Public Health Engineering Department, Power Grid, Kota Development Authority, Bundi district administration, and Kota Divisional Administration.

The meeting was informed by officials that the greenfield airport is proceeding according to plan.

They predicted that regular commercial aviation services would begin in December 2027 and that the airport will be prepared for runway operations by October 2027.

The 1,088-acre airport development site will include a 3.2-kilometer runway that can handle big planes.

The facility will be equipped with modern aviation infrastructure and has a projected passenger handling capacity of roughly 2 million passengers annually, according to officials.

So that foreign passengers are not reliant on big hubs like Delhi, Mumbai, or Jaipur for clearance procedures, Speaker Birla ordered officials to make sure that full immigration facilities are accessible at the Kota airport itself.

He stressed that the facility must be prepared for international travel without a hitch.

To encourage aviation-linked industrial development and provide job prospects in the area, he also directed officials to investigate the possibility of establishing an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility close to the airport.

Furthermore, the Lok Sabha Speaker proposed looking into the potential of creating a flight school on the grounds of the current old airport.

The initiative, according to the briefing officials received, will increase economic activity in the Hadoti region by facilitating better connections and new avenues for investment, tourism, trade, and industry.

The airport is anticipated to significantly boost regional development and offer improved national and international connectivity to the Kota-Bundi region, according per the plan.

Gaurav Goyal, who is Joint Secretary of the Lok Sabha Secretariat, and Rajesh Goyal, who is Officer on Special Duty to the Speaker, were among the senior officials present at the review meeting.

Image Credit: Patrika