Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday that Andhra Pradesh was set to emerge as an aviation hub with the Vijayawada (Gannavaram) airport registering an impressive growth in passenger traffic, pegged by Secretary (Ministry of Civil Aviation) R.N. Choubey at 73 per cent last year. The other two major airports at Visakhapatnam and Tirupati were also making rapid strides, he said.
He was happy that MOCA had agreed in principle for the construction of a regular/permanent terminal building at the Vijayawada airport. Inaugurating the terminal building and laying the foundation for the runway extension, along with Union Ministers P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju, M. Venkaiah Naidu, Y.S. Chowdary and Bandaru Dattatreya, Mr. Naidu said passenger traffic in India had increased by 18 per cent. The Gannavaram farmers had given about 750 acres for the expansion, at ₹3 cr. per acre. He requested Mr. Raju to complete the construction of the permanent terminal building in two years, sanction an aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at a suitable location in A.P. and consider the establishment of an air freight station at Veerapanenigudem in the Gannavaram Mandal.
