Hyderabad: The long-cherished dream of the people of Warangal is set to become a reality, as the Government of India has given the green signal for the de-velopment of Mamnoor airport. This significant milestone marks the es-tablishment of Telangana’s second airport, following the Hyderabad In-ternational Airport (HIAL) at Shamshabad.

In an important development, Civil Aviation Secretary Amit Kumar Jha communicated to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) regarding the op-erationalisation of the Warangal airport. The letter confirmed that HIAL has issued a ‘No Objection Certificate’(NOC), and directives have been given to transfer 253 acres of land to AAI for the airport’s development.

Currently, the Warangal airport remains a non-operational facility, origi-nally built during the World War II. As per Clause 5.2 of the Concession Agreement for Hyderabad’s Greenfield Airport, the Government of India had committed to restricting the establishment or upgrade of any do-mestic or international airport within 150 kilometers of Hyderabad air-port until its 25th anniversary.

However, on January 15, the Telangana government submitted HIAL’s NOC, dated January 6, seeking a waiver of the exclusivity clause for Mamnoor airport. The HIAL Board of Directors granted a one-time waiver specifically for this project, ensuring compliance with existing agree-ments.

Telangana’s Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy, acknowledged the Centre’s positive response to the state’s request, ena-bling the swift development of the Mamnoor airport. He credited Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s proactive discussions with the Central gov-ernment for expediting approvals and ensuring smooth execution of the project. The minister also played a key role in liaising with GMR to secure the necessary NOC. With the Centre’s formal approval, the airport’s con-struction is now set to move forward at an accelerated pace. He recalled that the Telangana government had previously allocated Rs 205 crore for the acquisition of 253 acres, which was transferred to AAI to facilitate the airport’s development. Expressing gratitude to the Chief Minister, Venkata Reddy reaffirmed the government’s commitment to enhancing Telangana’s aviation infrastruc-ture, bringing Warangal’s long-awaited airport closer to fruition.