The Gannavaram (Vijayawada) airport is poised for a phenomenal growth in both aircraft and passenger movements by the end of this financial year (2016-17) mainly drawing its strength from the construction of capital city Amaravati. Only a dawn-to-dusk airport now, it is making rapid strides to become 24×7 facility, for which steps are being taken with an eye on initially opening the skies to southeast Asian countries, said airport Director G. Madhusudana Rao.
Addressing an interactive session organised by the Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) here on Monday, Mr. Madhusudana Rao said the immediate goal was to get it declared as a Customs airport which would facilitate the establishment of air connectivity with important Asian cities. For it to happen, the approval of the Ministry of Finance was required.
The number of aircraft movements had gone up to from 1,621 in April-June 2015 to 2,888 in the corresponding quarter of 2016. The passenger movements between April and June 2015 were 92,103 and it touched 1,43,758 in the current year.
The number of passengers who travelled through the airport in 2015-16 was 39,6579 and it was set to cross six lakh by the end of FY 2016-17, he said. Mr. Rao said construction of the new Integrated Terminal Building (ITB) was likely to begin in 2019 and be completed by 2021. It was estimated to cost Rs. 535 crore. Realising the potential of the airport, Jet Airways and Indigo have evinced interest in offering their services here. Indigo has plans to make it a night parking hub and expand its operations in the due course. Brand new facilities costing nearly Rs. 150 crore are being provided in the existing terminal building.
‘Ten parking bays
under construction’
Mr. Rao said 10 parking bays were under construction in addition to the existing six. Five of them would be completed by this month-end and the remaining by August 31. The district administration would soon hand over 698 acres for airport development. The runway will be expanded by 739 metres from 2,286 metres and when it is over, large aircraft like Airbus 321 can be handled. Decks are cleared for the construction of a new technical block comprising an air traffic control tower with eight to 10 floors and advanced central navigation system among other paraphernalia. Work on this is scheduled to begin soon.
APCCIF President-elect M. Murali Krishna and Executive Director P. Bhaskar Rao also spoke.
Madhusudana Rao says the immediate goal is to get it declared as a Customs airport
