: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Union Minister for Urban Development and Information, Broadcasting M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday said with that improved infrastructure and rail, road and air connectivity, Andhra Pradesh would surely make progress on all fronts.
Addressing a function organised in connection with laying the foundation for Madhurapudi airport extension with Rs.181 crore worth works, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said 857 acres of land was handed over to the Civil Aviation Ministry. It was acquired from farmers by paying a compensation of nearly Rs.300 crore. He said A.P. is the only State in the country having five airports — Visakhapatnam, Madhurapudi, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Kadapa — and four to five more, including Bhogapuram, Oravakal, Dgadartri, Donakonda, were going to come up, and the government was awaiting necessary permissions from the Centre. He declared that the Madhurapudi airport would be developed into an international one in the days to come.
The State government had already handed over 700 acres land for Gannavaram Airport expansion and was prepared to give 500 more acres more through land pooling. It had given 703 acres to Tirupati airport for expansion and 3,000 acres to Bhogapuram airport.
Another thrust area
The State government was committed to developing ports also. Another port would come up at Kakinada and from four more in the 974-km-long coastal belt. Buckingham Canal, a major waterway, would be reconstructed and modernised. He said railway cargo clusters and SEZs would be developed.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, who spoke on the occasion, sought to silence his critics on the Special Category Status issue. He asked why Congress MPs was kept quiet in Parliament when the special status Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha but not included in the State reorganisation Act. They did not raise their voices when it was not taken up the Lok Sabha. He said he only fought for the people of A.P. and that was why his effigies were burnt in Telangana. He still strongly believed that package was better than SCS.
After the meeting, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airports Authority of India Chairman Guruprasad Mahopatra, Civil Aviation Secretary R.S. Chowbay and officials in the presence of Union Ministers Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Sujana Chowdary on Regional Air Connectivity (RAC) which will benefit air passengers travelling within the State.
