Two advanced firefighting vehicles from Austria arrive at Vijayapura airport

Vijayapura: The soon-to-be-inaugurated greenfield airport at Vijayapura has received two state-of-the-art firefighting vehicles imported from Austria, Infrastructure Development Minister M.B. Patil announced on Monday. The minister said the computerised vehicles were procured through a global tender at an estimated cost of ₹24 crore.

Equipped with high-pressure systems, each vehicle can spray water up to a distance of 160 meters, ensuring rapid fire suppression during emergencies. With their arrival, another key requirement mandated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has been fulfilled. “These vehicles are capable of dousing fires on the ground while moving at speed.

Such facilities were not part of the airport’s original design, but several additional features have now been incorporated,” Patil explained. The vehicles were shipped from Austria to Mumbai by sea and transported by truck to Vijayapura. With this addition, the airport edges closer to inauguration. The only pending requirement is environmental clearance, which the government is actively pursuing, the minister added.