Himachal Pradesh: 6 new heliports coming up under Udaan-2 scheme

Himachal Pradesh is likely to get six new heliports very soon. The state government recently announced that there are plans to construct six new heliports under Udaan-2 scheme. Referring to this development, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur stated that these heliports will be built at a cost of around INR 28 crore.

As per the latest news reports, the heliports proposed to be built are at Banerdu (Snahuli-Dhalli bypass), Rampur and Nathpa-Jhakri in Shimla, Kangnidhar in Mandi, Baddi in Solan and Manali in Kullu district.
The detailed project has already been prepared and includes fire operation building, passenger terminal building, underground storage tank, chain linking fencing and gates.

Reportedly, the heliport at Banredu will be built at an estimated cost of INR 10 crore, Ranpur heliport at a cost of INR 3.59 crore, Jhakri heliport at a cost of INR 3.16 crore, Kangnidhar heliport at a cost of INR 5.25 crore, Badi heliport to be built at a cost of INR 2.73 crore, and Manali heliport to be built at a cost of INR 3.34 crore. The Chief Minister also added that heliports are needed to boost tourism in this region. He stated that heli taxi services have become an effective medium of transportation, and this move is expected to add to tourism activity here.

He also mentioned that before preparing the detailed project report, a survey was carried out to select the sites in the first phase. And although, heliports have the provision to equip landing only one chopper at a time, the Kangnidhar heliport is capable of accommodating three choppers at a time.

Currently, Himachal Pradesh is home to 64 small helipads, and the government is planning to add to those numbers to ensure all the 68 assembly constituencies of the state have one helipad each.