Chandigarh, May 22 (IANS): The Punjab government has given in principle approval for constructing a shorter and alternate route to the Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport from Chandigarh, officials said on Monday.

The proposed routes will reduce the travel distance to around 3.5 km, reducing the time from 25 minutes to five minutes.

The Chandigarh Administration has been deliberating to develop a shorter and alternate route to the airport as the existing and single route is long and the commuters have to travel 11.5 km to reach the airport from Chandigarh.

The alternate route has been prepared after consultation of all the stakeholders -- the Punjab government, the Ministry of Defence, the Indian Air Force, the Chandigarh International Airport Ltd, and the Ministry of Railways, an official statement said.

The Punjab government has also given its approval for acquiring the land falling in its jurisdiction, whereas the in principle approvals have already been taken from the other stakeholders.

The new route is planned to start from 200 metres before the T-point intersection of Vikas Marg (coming from Sector 43 bus stand) and Purv Marg (coming from Tribune Chowk).