The Hindu Business Line : Vizag airport readying for take-off

As Visakhapatnam gets into the fast lane, with several new industrial projects coming up and IT companies flocking to the city, its airport needs better facilities.

The project to expand the runway to facilitate the landing of the bigger aircraft is expected to be completed sometime in 2007 and the new terminal building with facilities such as Customs, immigration, three aerobridges, and four baggage belts will be ready by 2008, according to official sources. That will enable the operation of international flights from Vizag.

Visakhapatnam is connected to Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and New Delhi via Raipur. Fifty-four flights operate in a week and last year (2005-2006), 2.5 lakh passengers travelled through the airport here, marking an increase of 60 per cent over the previous year. Shortly, direct flights to Port Blair and Bangalore are expected.

Airlines vie to hit Vizag

Silk Air, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, has expressed its willingness to operate flights directly from Visakhapatnam to Singapore, it is learnt. Malaysian, Sri Lankan and Thai airlines are also evincing interest in Vizag besides domestic private airline operators such as Kingfisher Airlines.

However, it all hinges on how fast the ongoing works on the runway, the approach roads, and the terminal building are completed. There was some disruption of works last year, when the airport remained inundated for long periods with surplus water from the Meghadrigedda reservoir. The problem needs to be addressed urgently, and permanently, as expanding the airport would be of little use if it gets flooded frequently.

Experts have suggested constructing another reservoir on the Meghadrigedda at a cost of Rs 25-30 crore to prevent the flooding of the airport. The Andhra Pradesh Government, it was said, had agreed to the proposal but no steps have been initiated in that direction till now. There is also a proposal to build an international airport, as the city grows but it has not yet been decided where it should be located.

Airport for Vijayawada

Like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada too suffers for want of a proper airport and the aerodrome built by the British during the Second World War at Gannavaram (25 km from Vijayawada) is not sufficient for current needs.

Air Deccan operates flights from Vijayawada. The State Government recently allocated land for the development of an IT park near the Gannavaram airport and so its runway needs to be lengthened for bigger aircraft. In fact, there is a need to construct a proper airport in the region with all facilities to meet the needs of Vijayawada, Guntur, Eluru and Tenali towns.

Similar is the case with the port town of Kakinada and of Rajahmundry in East Godavari district.

There is an airstrip at Madhurapudi, near Rajahmundry, but grossly inadequate for the needs of the two growing towns. Air Deccan operates flights from there. But as several gas-based industries are coming up in the Krishna-Godavari basin and as IT parks are planned in these towns, the need for a new airport cannot be overemphasised.

The ambitious plans of the AP Government to develop Kakinada-Vizag as one of the important industrial belts in the country and to develop the Kakinada-Vijayawada zone on the basis of the huge gas reserves in the K-G basin can be realised only if air connectivity is improved.

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