The limitations at the existing Visakhapatnam International Airport make it imperative for development of the proposed Greenfield International Airport at Bhogapuram, Union Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju said.
Declining to give any timeframe for completion of the Greenfield Airport project, Mr. Raju who was here to attend a private function on Tuesday, said that it was necessary to develop the new airport as the existing one was under control of the Defence Ministry whose priorities are different.
Further, the presence of a hill on one side necessitates landing and take off of flights only in one direction which was a constraint to the fast growing traffic.
When his attention was drawn to the undue delay in the inauguration of the Integrated Cargo Complex and the loss to exporters, he said that the cargo complex would be opened soon. Air cargo exports were still in a nascent stage in Visakhapatnam, the Minister said while admitting that the basic facilities for high value and low volume perishables like pharma and seafood exports are being developed.
Reacting to the reported tussle between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and AP Trade Promotion Corporation (APTPC), on payment of dues, which had delayed the opening of the cargo complex, he said that the two government agencies would sort it out between themselves.
The Civil Aviation Minister lauded the Visakhapatnam International Airport authorities for making the airport operational in a record time following the severe cyclone Hudhud in October last year.
