Hyderabad: The proposed greenfield airport at Bhadradri Kothagudem has suffered a setback after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) found the identified site unsuitable because of the surrounding hills and a railway line. The Centre, however, said Warangal Airport had received in-principle approval at an estimated cost of ₹496.8 crore, including Goods and Services Tax (GST).Minister of state for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol told the Rajya Sabha on July 20 that the AAI conducted a pre-feasibility study in Jan 2025 at the proposed site covering Ramavaram, Chunchupally and Sujatha Nagar villages in Bhadradri Kothagudem. The site was found to be unfeasible because of the terrain and the railway line.
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No site-clearance proposalMohol said no fresh proposal seeking site clearance under the Greenfield Airports Policy, 2008, had been received for Bhadradri Kothagudem. Implementation and funding of greenfield airport projects rested with the airport developer, he added.Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju, the BRS MP from Telangana, had asked the Centre whether it had received a fresh feasibility report submitted by the state govt in June 2026 for a proposed greenfield airport at Bhadradri Kothagudem. The report was said to be based on a newly identified 667-acre site spread across Seethampeta and Sujathanagar villages.However, the Centre said that while an earlier AAI study had found the previous site unsuitable because of nearby hills and a railway line, it had not received any proposal seeking mandatory site clearance for the new location under the Greenfield Airports Policy.In another reply to Congress MP Vem Narender Reddy, Mohol said Telangana had submitted proposals for airports at Adilabad and Peddapalli.For Adilabad, the AAI completed a techno-economic feasibility study for developing the airport as a joint-user airfield and communicated the land requirement to the state govt. For Peddapalli, the AAI submitted the pre-feasibility study for the proposed greenfield airport site in Feb 2026.Warangal works tenderedMohol said the AAI had accorded in-principle approval for Warangal airport and invited tenders for pavement works covering the runway, apron and taxiway, besides the construction of the boundary wall.The completion and operationalisation timeline would depend on land acquisition, statutory and mandatory clearances, financial closure, and site-specific constraints. Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav Mandadi also raised the issue.The minister said 58 routes had been operationalised in Telangana under the Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme. Its next phase, launched on July 4, aims to connect 120 new destinations and benefit four crore passengers nationwide, including those in Telangana.
