The Hindu Business Line : Vizag airport to get new terminal complex

THE UNION MINISTER of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel (second from left) shares a lighter moment after laying the foundation stone for the Rs 94-crore integrated terminal building at Visakhapatnam airport on Monday. Also seen are (from left) the Union Ministers, Mr T. Subbarami Reddy and Mr M.M. Pallum Raju, and the MP from Visakhapatnam, Mr N. Janardhana Reddy. - K.R. Deepak

Visakhapatnam , Sept. 25

The Union Civil Aviation Ministry has identified 35 non-metro airports, including Visakhapatnam, along with the six metro ones, for rapid development, as air connectivity is crucial to economic growth and promotion of tourism, according to Mr Praful Patel, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.

He was speaking here on Monday after laying the foundation stone for an integrated terminal complex at the airport to be built in 22 months at a cost of Rs 94.94 crore.

He said the country of India's size needed better air connectivity and it was not proper to focus on the metros alone. The sector had long been neglected and it was only during the past two years that 51 per cent growth had been registered.

`Employment potential'

Mr. Patel said the sector would attract as much as Rs 2 lakh crore in the next decade or so and "therefore it opens up huge employment potential for the youth like the software sector."

He said there were 400 airstrips in the country, some of them in a derelict condition, and there was a need to interconnect them and set up "a sort of aviation grid."

Referring to the Vizag airport, he said it would be the key for "unlocking the potential of Vizag as a major industrial center, a port city and a tourism destination."

Currently, work was going on the construction of a new runway at the airport and creation of night-landing facilities.

International status could be accorded to the terminal after the completion of the project.

Referring to the request made by Mr M. Pallam Raju, Union Minister of State for Defence, on the expansion of Rajahmundry airport, the minister said the Airports Authority of India (AAI) was willing to take up lengthening of the runway if the State Government provided the requisite land. The other airports in the State - Tirupati and Vijayawada - would also be developed, he promised.

Mr Patel said the international airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad would be ready by 2008 and it would give a boost to the growth of the State.

EXPANSION WORK

Mr K. Ramalingam, Chairman of AAI, said the work on the new runway and expansion of the Vizag airport, taken up at a cost of Rs 200 crore (the Navy contributing Rs 150 crore, the AAI and the Andhra Pradesh Government Rs 25 crore), would be completed by 2008. The work on the runway would be over by December. The AAI was bearing the entire cost of the new terminal.

Mr T. Subbirami Reddy, Union Minister of State for Mines, spoke about the Rs 48-crore project for construction of a 12-km diversion channel to prevent the frequent inundation of the airport during the monsoon season.

Mr N. Janardhana Reddy, the local member of Parliament, and several others spoke.

More Stories on : Modernisation | Infrastructure | Andhra Pradesh

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Vizag airport to get new terminal complex

Ministry plans to review engg dept of AI, Indian

ONGC's Sagar Vijay sails off after upgradation

Kochi port cuts container trailer hiring charges

Assurance on Kochi Port

Power Ministry opposed to sale of Dabhol's LNG terminal

Air India net falls 82.54 pc

Newgen's solution for M.P. transport dept

TCI completes merger of TCI Seaways

SAIL supplies wheels to Rlys ahead of schedule

`Aviation growth to provide impetus to MRO industry'