Chandigarh: Nearly 11 years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on November 11, 2015, residents of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Zirakpur may soon get a shorter access route to the airport.<\/p>\n
Nayab Singh Saini has approved the project for constructing a new road connecting Chandigarh directly to the airport terminal. The proposal now requires final clearance from the Ministry of Defence before work can begin.<\/p>\n
According to official documents, the approved proposal includes construction of a 100-foot-wide road from Chandigarh\u2019s entry point alongside defence land and vacant land owned by Chandigarh International Airport Limited (CHIAL), leading directly to the new terminal building.<\/p>\n
The initiative, jointly discussed by Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana authorities, suffered a setback after Bhagwant Mann reportedly refused to share the project cost. During a high-level inter-state meeting, Mann said Punjab was facing financial constraints and could not contribute financially to the project.<\/p>\n
Punjab also argued that residents of the state already use the Mohali-side route to access the airport, and therefore the new road would not directly benefit Punjab residents.<\/p>\n
However, Haryana maintained that the alternate route would significantly reduce travel distance for commuters coming from Mohali, Zirakpur and the Kalka-Shimla highway.<\/p>\n
After closure of the old domestic terminal located at the Air Force base, the convenient Chandigarh-side entry to the airport had ended, forcing people from Panchkula, Zirakpur and eastern Chandigarh sectors to take longer routes via Mohali.<\/p>\n
Once completed, the new road is expected to reduce travel distance considerably:<\/p>\n
From Zirakpur to the airport: from 13.7 km to 9.6 km<\/p>\n
From Mohali: from 16 km to 13.1 km<\/p>\n
From the Kalka-Shimla highway: from 11.7 km to 9.6 km<\/p>\n
The project will require around 38 acres of defence land. Haryana has agreed to bear the entire cost, including land acquisition, road construction, a new Air Force boundary wall, security arrangements and a 450-metre underpass near Runway 29 as demanded by the Indian Air Force.<\/p>\n
Since the land falls under Chandigarh and Punjab jurisdictions and Haryana has no nearby land to exchange, the state will acquire the land through cash payment to the Defence Ministry.<\/p>\n
Officials said the proposal is being uploaded on the Defence Ministry portal and will be formally sent to the Centre after approval from Haryana\u2019s aviation department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chandigarh: Nearly 11 years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport on November 11, 2015, residents of Chandigarh, Panchkula and Zirakpur may soon get a shorter access route to the airport. Nayab Singh Saini has approved the project for constructing a new road connecting Chandigarh directly to the airport terminal. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,37],"tags":[15072,15071,15070,15069],"class_list":["post-65214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-national","tag-11-year-wait","tag-airport-after","tag-clears-shorter-road-project-for-chandigarh","tag-haryana-govt"],"yoast_head":"\n