Gulte News
Rajahmundry, the cultural capital of Andhra Pradesh, is set to make a mark in the aviation sector. Union minister for civil aviation Jyotraditya Scindia laid foundation stone for a new terminal building worth Rs 350 crore at the Rajahmundry airport.
The Union minister said that prior to 2014, Andhra Pradesh had only 4 airports but now, it has six airports. The air traffic movement has increased from 388 in 2014 to 1,162.
At present, two new Greenfield airports are being built in the state — at Bhogapuram and Nellore. They will soon be ready for public, along with the Prakasam water barrage, he said.
By 2030, the country will have over 200 airports, which will especially include airports in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. “Additionally, we will be carrying more than 40 crore passengers, thus establishing our mandate of becoming the biggest aviation market,” he added.
After the expansion of the terminal building on an additional area of 17,029 sqm, the total area of the terminal building will be 21,094 sqm. The expansion will help to serve 2,100 passengers during peak hours and 30 lakh passengers annually.
Rajahmundry is currently connected to three cities i.e., Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru, and handles 126 flight movements per week. The new terminal building at Rajahmundry Airport is likely to be operational by the end of 2025.
The new terminal will be able to cater eight to ten flights per hour, Airports Authority of India (AAI) Chairman Sanjeev Kumar said.
Giving details about the terminal, the AAI Chairman said it will have 30 check-in encounters, eight security lanes with express machines, and three aerobridges. “So the modern terminal which we see in our metropolitan city would also be developed in Rajahmundry Airport,” he said.
On AAI’s capital expenditure spending, he said it spent about Rs 5,200 crore last year.
