VIJAYAWADA: Air transport is meant not just for people and there is tremendous potential in cargo, Union Minister for Civil Aviation P. Ashok Gajapati Raju has said.
Speaking at the inauguration of Aviation Summit here on Thursday, Mr. Ashok said that the world’s largest airline, Fedex, is a cargo one. The value and volume of temperature- sensitive cargo was on the rise and e-commerce too was growing rapidly, he said.
Regional connectivity
The Minister said there was tremendous potential for regional air connectivity. The idea of regional connectivity was picked up from the BJP manifesto and a team of experts and some private consultants were working on it.
Earlier, the Civil Aviation Minister along with the Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu released the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) for Aviation Report prepared jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and KPMG.
Mr. Ashok said that Andhra Pradesh was one of the most aviation-friendly States in the country. It was collecting just one per cent VAT on air turbine fuel and it gave 700 acres for the expansion of the Gannavaram airport. None of the other States were ready to reduce tax on fuel and some were not even ready to give land.
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said that there was a very strong link between airports and urban development. “Strong aviation network stimulates local economic development, market size, employment levels and entry of new business in the region,” he said.
Synergy between the aviation network and urban development was imperative to address the growing challenges of urban transport, he said.
Venkaiah gives full
credit to Vajpayee
Mr. Venkaiah Naidu said the reforms implemented by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee changed “connectivity” in various sectors in the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to bring about attitudinal changes in the people of the country.
The Urban Development Minister, appreciating the theme of the summit — “Giving wings to the flying ambitions of the common man”— said that flying should be made affordable.
FICCI Civil Aviation Committee Pratyush Kumar and Ministry of Civil Aviation secretary R.N.Choubey spoke. FICCI Deputy Secretary General Vinay Shankar Mathur proposed a vote of thanks.
