The Andhra Pradesh government, which had proposed to set up more airports and expand the existing ones, has run into a land hurdle. Not only are they unable to find free land for the construction of new airports, the steep land prices have made it difficult to acquire private lands.
With the coastal industrial corridor and several SEZs with investments of more than Rs 1 lakh crore being proposed in the Visakhapatnam and Kakinada region, the government has been contemplating a new green field airport straddling the two regions. Currently, tourists and various businessmen from foreign countries depend on the Chennai or Hyderabad airport due to lack of direct connectivity, Vizag Development Council member O Naresh Kumar said. "We need to increase the connectivity to destinations abroad. There are many airliners willing to come here but the government has to look into the matter," he said.
The government has been examining the feasibility of setting up an airport at S Rayavaram, 80 km from Vizag, or Bhogapuram in Viziangaram, which is 45 km from Vizag. However, the first site, where the government was eyeing nearly 4,000 to 5,000 acres, had to be discarded as the defence ministry allegedly said it would not allow any aircraft to fly within 50-60 km radius of its alternative operations base (NAOB) at Rambilli.
11/08/14 Times of India
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With the coastal industrial corridor and several SEZs with investments of more than Rs 1 lakh crore being proposed in the Visakhapatnam and Kakinada region, the government has been contemplating a new green field airport straddling the two regions. Currently, tourists and various businessmen from foreign countries depend on the Chennai or Hyderabad airport due to lack of direct connectivity, Vizag Development Council member O Naresh Kumar said. "We need to increase the connectivity to destinations abroad. There are many airliners willing to come here but the government has to look into the matter," he said.
The government has been examining the feasibility of setting up an airport at S Rayavaram, 80 km from Vizag, or Bhogapuram in Viziangaram, which is 45 km from Vizag. However, the first site, where the government was eyeing nearly 4,000 to 5,000 acres, had to be discarded as the defence ministry allegedly said it would not allow any aircraft to fly within 50-60 km radius of its alternative operations base (NAOB) at Rambilli.
11/08/14 Times of India
