After waiting for nearly six decades, the construction of Hassan airport in Karnataka will soon begin. The district administration informed the tender process for the construction of the first phase of the airport has been completed.

According to officials, the project will be taken up by the state and the Centre on a cost-sharing basis.

The greenfield domestic passenger airport project at Hassan in South Karnataka was proposed in 1967 by the state government and in 1996, the then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had laid the foundation stone at Boovanahalli, on the outskirts of Hassan, for the project.

But the project hasn’t seen any progress since. Speaking to indianexpress.com, Hassan Deputy Commissioner R Girish said, “The tender process for the project is completed and at a cost of Rs 99 crore, the first phase of work will start soon. The first phase includes the construction of the runway and compound walls and the second phase includes the construction of other structures, including the passenger terminal at the airport.”

The Karnataka State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation is the implementing agency of the project and according to Girish, the project is expected to be completed in 20 months.

In June this year, the Karnataka cabinet had cleared Rs 193.65 crore in funding support to the airport project in the district. Former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had allocated Rs 175 crore during his Budget speech.

Earlier, Deve Gowda, who hails from the district, had also made an appeal to the government to have a functional airport in Hassan.