State fails to acquire land for city airport

Vijayawada: Six decades passed since the construction of the Gannavaram airport during the World War-II. No progress has been made to develop infrastructure and provide basic amenities to the passengers.
Airports in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati have been developed to national and international standards during all these years. Though the central government is coming forward to develop the airport by the construction of a new terminal and providing more amenities at a cost of Rs 70 crore, the state government is neglecting land acquisition, which is very vital for the upgradation of the airport.
The state government and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) reached an agreement in 2007 to develop the airport for which the state government agreed to acquire 361 acres of land and hand it over to the AAI. The revenue department held discussions with the farmers in Gannavaram to acquire the required land. But, no progress has been made in this regard. It is estimated that Rs 70 crore is required for the land acquisition. Congress leaders and the district officials made representations to the Chief Minister Mr K. Rosaiah, for the sanction of funds to acquire the land for the development of Gannavaram airport. But, there is no response.
Gannavaram airport is catering to the needs of passengers of four the districts of Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and West Godavari which have a population of at least 1.60 crore.
15/11/10 Deccan Chronicle

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Categories: Airports Nov 2010, New Nov 2010