Hyderabad's new generation airport ready by year-end

Hyderabad: Hyderabad's new international airport, which incorporates the best of facilities in Oslo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore airports and promises to take Indian airports to a new era, will be ready by year-end and become operational in March 2008. The Rs.24.78 billion ($601 million) Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, which hopes to spur growth of this booming tech hub, is coming up in Shamshabad, about 25 km from the city on the Hyderabad-Bangalore national highway.
Flight trials are likely to begin in January and the first commercial flight is scheduled to take off in March, a month before the opening of the new international airport in Bangalore, its competitor.
Hundreds of workers are working round the clock to give final shape to the futuristic airport, which is expected to make Hyderabad a transit hub between Europe and Southeast Asia.
The initial phase of the airport will be capable of handling 12 million passengers per annum (mppa) as against 5.95 mppa handled by existing airport and more than 100,000 tonnes of cargo per annum against 45,000 tonnes handled by existing facility. The ultimate capacity of the new airport is over 40 mppa and one million tonnes of cargo per annum.
22/08/07 IANS/Hindustan Times

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Categories: Airports Aug 2007, New Aug 2007