Armed with various studies and survey reports, the AP government is pulling out all stops to get the international airport status to Gannavaram. Although plans have been rolled out to get a greenfield airport constructed within the capital city area near Thullur, the Chandrababu Naidu government is wasting no time to get the international airport tag for Gannavaram as well.
The district administration is working overtime to get the land acquired to facilitate expansion of the airport on a war footing. Notwithstanding the protests from the farmers, the district administration is all set to divert the Eluru canal and re-route the national highway stretch near the airport in a month. What more, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is confident of completing the modernization works at the airport in the next 3-4 months.
"We are hopeful of getting the international tag to the airport within a year from now," MP Konakalla Narayana Rao says with confidence. The chief minister has directed local legislator Vallabhaneni Vamsi to pacify the angry farmers to complete the land acquisition process. Airport director G M S Rao said they are ready to provide a swanky terminal, aerobridges, apron, escalators, baggage conveyors, surveillance cameras, doorframe metal detectors and other paraphrenalia soon after getting land in their hands.
The airport is spread over 500 acres and the officials are planning to acquire another 700 acres. Gannavaram is a 'C' category airport and getting upgradation to F is mandatory for securing international airport tag. "Since providing facilities to ensure landing and take-off of big aircraft like Airbus A-380 is a must to jump into 'F' category, the government should try to operate direct flights to Dubai and Singapore," observed former AAI director M Subbarao.
01/01/16 M N Samdani/The Times Of India
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The district administration is working overtime to get the land acquired to facilitate expansion of the airport on a war footing. Notwithstanding the protests from the farmers, the district administration is all set to divert the Eluru canal and re-route the national highway stretch near the airport in a month. What more, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) is confident of completing the modernization works at the airport in the next 3-4 months.
"We are hopeful of getting the international tag to the airport within a year from now," MP Konakalla Narayana Rao says with confidence. The chief minister has directed local legislator Vallabhaneni Vamsi to pacify the angry farmers to complete the land acquisition process. Airport director G M S Rao said they are ready to provide a swanky terminal, aerobridges, apron, escalators, baggage conveyors, surveillance cameras, doorframe metal detectors and other paraphrenalia soon after getting land in their hands.
The airport is spread over 500 acres and the officials are planning to acquire another 700 acres. Gannavaram is a 'C' category airport and getting upgradation to F is mandatory for securing international airport tag. "Since providing facilities to ensure landing and take-off of big aircraft like Airbus A-380 is a must to jump into 'F' category, the government should try to operate direct flights to Dubai and Singapore," observed former AAI director M Subbarao.
01/01/16 M N Samdani/The Times Of India
