Location for Bengaluru's 2nd airport to be finalised strictly on merit: Minister Patil

Bengaluru: Karnataka Minister for Infrastructure Development M B Patil on Monday said the location for Bengaluru’s second airport will be finalised “purely and strictly on merit”.

The state government will soon decide on the matter and communicate the same to the Airport Authority of India (AAI), Patil said.

“If it is nearer to city, people will come. For other districts — whether Tumakuru, Vijayapura, Hubballi or Belagavi — district airports are different. This airport is related to Bengaluru, and it should provide convenience to the people of Bengaluru for the all-round development of the city to be globally competitive,” Patil told reporters here.

Stating that the location for the airport will be decided purely based on merit, Patil said, “A decision will be taken soon in the interest of Bengaluru after considering all the pros and cons, which we will send to the Airport Authority of India.” Asked about the locations identified so far for the airport, the minister said there are four-five places and a final decision will be made after discussing the with the chief minister.

Dabaspet, Nelamangala, Bidadi and Harohalli were among the places discussed earlier for the proposed airport.