VIJAYAWADA/ RAJAHMUNDRY /VISAKHAPATNAM: In a major boost to the civil aviation sector in the State, the expanded and strengthened runways at Vijayawada and Rajahmundry airports became operational on Tuesday. Also, works on linear expansion of the terminal building at Visakhapatnam airport commenced today. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the two runways and laid the foundation stone for the expansion of the terminal in Visakhapatnam through video-link from New Delhi on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Vijayawada airport, from 2286 m x 45 m length and width, was extended to 3360 m x 45 m length and width in a span of 24 months at an estimated cost of  Rs 145 crore. With the runway extended by 1,074 metres, the airport can facilitate landing of gigantic aircraft like Boeing 747-400 and 777-300, and also accommodate on the terminal 16 aircraft at a time. Speaking on the occasion, Suresh Prabhu said the extension works at Vijayawada’s Gannavaram Airport will smoothen cargo traffic flow operations and boost the economy of the State. He lauded the efforts of farmers for giving their lands for the works and praised the State government for speedy execution of the works.

Gannavaram Airport director G Madhusudhan Rao said that for a decade, acquisition of land for expansion works remained on papers. However, the State government acquired 700 acres of land for the purpose and foundation stone for the runway expansion was laid in February 2017. The project faced initial hiccups due to the unwillingness of villagers to get rehabilitated from the land allocated to the airport.

They even turned down plots offered to them by the State government in Amaravati under Land Pooling Scheme, he said, adding that full-fledged operations on the extended runway will commence in a month after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) inspection is carried out. For the Rajahmundry airport, the runway, extended from 1,700 meters to 3,165 meters, will enable it to handle aircraft like A-321.

The airport is presently handling ATR 72/500 and Q-400 aircraft. Rajahmundry airport currently caters to the needs of 70 lakh people of both East and West Godavari districts, according to East Godavari District Collector Karthikeyan Mishra. Expansion of the runway and addition of new flights to the national capital would help people’s representatives go to New Delhi and also help the ONGC, which plans to invest Rs 35,000 crore in the district in the upcoming 3-4 years. 

For pilgrims, Kartikeya Mishra said, efforts are on to start direct flight services in two to three months from Rajahmundry to Tirupati and Shirdi. While laying the foundation stone for the expansion of Visakhapatnam airport, Suresh Prabhu said the airport will now be able to provide a hassle-free service to passengers even during peak hours.

The new terminal, to be built at a cost of Rs 60 crore, is going to handle 1,000 passengers during the peak hours as against its current capacity of handling 700 passengers. The project is likely to be completed by September. “Andhra Pradesh is the Sun Rise State of India. Infrastructural growth will help increase passenger traffic here. It has already doubled over the years,” said Suresh Prabhu. There is scope to develop an integrated logistics hub in Visakhapatnam, he added. MLC PVN Madhav and Visakhapatnam Airport Director Prakash Reddy were present during the meeting. Minister of state for civil aviation, Jayant Sinha was also present at the meeting.