Centre to Allow Multiple Airports in Major Cities, Minister Rammohan Naidu

Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu has said the Centre will allow the operation of more than one airport in major cities to meet the rising demand for air travel across the country.

Speaking after the first successful test flight at the Alluri Sitharama Raju International Airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district on Sunday, the Minister said the government would review the existing policy that restricts the functioning of two airports within a 150-km radius.

Mr. Rammohan Naidu said the Centre was already moving forward with new airport projects in Mumbai, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Bengaluru, Parandur near Chennai and other cities. Ghaziabad is located about 42 km from New Delhi.

He said proposals for new airports would be cleared once existing airports reach saturation levels.

Highlighting the priority given to the aviation sector, the Minister said the Centre was promoting new airports and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul facilities to boost economic activity and generate employment.

Referring to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad in Telangana, spread across 5,000 acres, Mr. Rammohan Naidu credited former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for taking the initiative during his tenure between 1995 and 2003.

He said equal importance would be given to developing multiple access roads to airports to improve connectivity and support industrial and economic growth.

Expressing confidence in the Bhogapuram airport, the Minister said it would act as a growth engine by creating local employment and strengthening trade, exports and tourism in Andhra Pradesh.

Andhra Pradesh MSME Minister Kondapalli Srinivas and GMR Group Airports Business Chairman G.B.S. Raju said the new international airport at Bhogapuram would accelerate development in the North Andhra region.