Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has said Hyderabad is building what he described as the world’s first underground road tunnel beneath an airport runway. The project is coming up under the runway at Begumpet Airport.
Speaking during the Question Hour in the Telangana Assembly, the Chief Minister said major Indian metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai face daily disruptions due to air pollution, poor drainage systems and traffic congestion. He added that Hyderabad performs better in comparison, but warned that without timely reforms the city could face similar problems in the future.
To prevent worsening congestion, he said the state is constructing the tunnel under the Begumpet runway to improve vehicle movement into the city. According to him, such a road tunnel under an airport runway has not been built elsewhere in the world.
Reddy said the state has obtained permission from the Airports Authority of India and that the work is progressing at full pace with the Central government’s consent. He said the tunnel is expected to reduce traffic congestion caused by vehicles entering the city from the northern parts of the state.
Begumpet Airport, which began operations in 1937, is currently used for military purposes, and no passenger flights operate from the facility.
