Union Civil Aviation Minister Rammohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Tuesday, 14 July confirmed that approximately 80 per cent of the construction of Dholera International Airport has been completed, with the Centre targeting commercial operations by September or October following the completion of remaining works and receipt of regulatory clearances. The announcement came during a high-level review of the project's progress in Dholera, Gujarat.

Review and Key Officials

The Minister conducted the site review alongside Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha, Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Vipin Kumar, and senior representatives from the Gujarat government and the Dholera International Airport consortium. The meeting assessed construction timelines, pending approvals, and the airport's broader strategic positioning.

Naidu described the airport as a project of national importance, calling it 'not merely a regional asset for Ahmedabad or Gujarat, but a landmark project of immense strategic importance for the entire country.'

Construction Progress

Of the overall construction, around 75 per cent of the passenger terminal building has been finished. Critical infrastructure — including the runway, taxiway, air traffic control tower, and ancillary structures — has already been completed.

The airport will feature a 25,000-square-metre passenger terminal capable of handling 20 lakh passengers annually, along with a dedicated 2,500-square-metre cargo terminal designed to serve the industrial ecosystem taking shape in Dholera. The Minister directed contractors to complete all remaining on-site work by September, with the Ministry of Civil Aviation committing to work with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to secure the operating licence within the next three months.

Strategic Significance: Aerotropolis and Multi-Modal Hub

The airport has been conceived as an 'Aerotropolis' — a facility designed to anchor manufacturing and industrial investment well beyond conventional aviation functions. It is the first airport in India to be integrated simultaneously with a manufacturing hub, a greenfield smart city, and a semiconductor cluster.

On connectivity, Naidu highlighted that Dholera would function as a multi-modal transport hub linked to a six-lane National Highway and a high-speed rail corridor. The recently approved ₹20,667 crore rail project will place a railway station adjacent to the airport terminal, enabling passengers from Ahmedabad to step directly from a high-speed train into the terminal.

The airport is being developed through a joint venture involving the AAI, the Gujarat government, and NICDIT under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and forms part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for Dholera as a future manufacturing and industrial centre.

Industrial and Defence Partnerships

The Minister noted that Tata's semiconductor facility and Airbus's defence partnerships would benefit from dedicated Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hangars planned at the airport. These hangars will also support maintenance of India's indigenous C-295 military transport aircraft.

In a significant announcement, Naidu revealed that Embraer of Brazil and Adani Aviation Systems have finalised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish the final assembly line for India's first civilian 'Make in India' aircraft at Dholera, with the first aircraft targeted to roll out by 2028.

What Comes Next

With contractors directed to wrap up on-site work by September, the critical path now runs through regulatory approvals. The DGCA licence, if secured within the three-month window, would allow the airport to begin commercial operations by September or October. How swiftly the Embraer-Adani assembly line and MRO facilities take shape will determine whether Dholera lives up to its Aerotropolis ambition in the near term.