Telangana eyes land at Begumpet airport to set up Aero Campus

HYDERABAD: With the aerospace and defence sectors taking off in the state, the Telangana government is eyeing nearly 100 acres of land at Begumpet airport to set up an ‘Aero Campus’ to cater to the demand for skilled aviation professionals.
The Telangana infrastructure and investment department has already requested the Union ministry of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to allot the land parcel on the southern side of the old airport in addition to two hangars.
“The government wants to set up an aero campus housing a skill development centre to offer aviation programmes of international standards as well as a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility. It has also requested the Centre to hand over some buildings under AAI’s control, including two hangars,” VN Bharath Reddy, director of aviation, Telangana infrastructure and investment department, told TOI.
With Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) already setting up aerospace and defence manufacturing units at Adibatla in partnership with aerospace giants like Boeing, Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin, there is a growing demand for skilled aviation professionals, officials said.
“The government is planning to tie up with aviation biggies to offer courses in skill development in aeronautical engineering, aviation security, aviation fire-fighting and cabin crew training. The aviation sector will have a bright future in the next five years as the Centre is also encouraging expansion of airline services to smaller cities,” Reddy added.
According to officials, the government would require at least two hangars at the airport. As of now, there are four hangars — two belong to Air India and two are with AAI. The government also had two hangars, but they were gutted in December 2012.
“We are hopeful of a positive response from the civil aviation ministry soon. The land issue was also discussed at the officers’ level during a review meeting of the civil aviation ministry held recently in Delhi,” a senior industry department official said.
Begumpet airport, which was fully operational till 2008, is now confined only to VIP and defence related operations after the new international airport at Shamshabad became operational.