Raipur:
Chhattisgarh government will charge air fuel tax at 1 per cent from current 5 per cent once international flights start operating from the Raipur airport. “The state government will reduce aviation turbine fuel tax from 5 per cent to 1 per cent as soon as the facility of international flights commences in the capital,” an official release said on Thursday quoting Chief Minister Raman Singh.
According to an official, the chief minister announced the decision to reduce the aviation turbine fuel tax during a meeting of AAI (Airports Authority of India) officials held at his official residence here last night.
Singh also assigned the possession of 350 acres of land for the development of Raipur airport to operate international flights to AAI Chairman V K Agrawal, the official said.
In order to boost the air travel in the state, the government also signed an MoU with the AAI for establishment of airport at Raigarh district headquarters at the estimated cost of Rs 280 crore, a senior official said.
The agreement was signed by the civil aviation secretary Subodh Kumar Singh on the behalf of the state government and Agrawal who represented AAI.
“The airport at Raigarh will be the second airport in Chhattisgarh for domestic flights,” the official said, adding that land at the rate of Rs 1 will be provided to the AAI for construction work, which will begin soon.
The new airport will come up over 592 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 280 crore in two phases under the time-bound programme of three years.
In the first phase, a 1870-metre-long and 45-metre-wide runway will be constructed at the estimated cost of Rs 120 crore and at Rs 160 crore in the second phase wherein a 2,000-metre runway having width of 45 metres will be layed,the official said.
