The State Government’s decision to use the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) to acquire land for the Gannavaram airport has given a fillip to plans chalked out by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to make the airport an international one.
“With this, work will gain momentum and we can plan a series of projects for the overall development of the airport,” airport director M. Rajkishore said on Tuesday. He said a new terminal building, to be built at cost of over Rs.108 crore, a repair and overhaul facility, a cargo complex and a taxiway, among other amenities, will come up once the required land is handed over to AAI.
At present, the airport is sprawled over 536 acres with a runway of 7,500 ft. To facilitate international flights to land and takeoff, the existing runway ought to be extended to 14,500 ft.
“Our aim is to create the best infrastructure for airline companies and passengers, and ensure that A380 flights can land here at the earliest,” said Mr. Rajkishore.
In orders issued Monday, the Government appointed Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) Commissioner N. Srikanth, Krishna District Collector Babu A. and revenue divisional officers as the competent authorities to implement the LPS for Gannavaram farmers. These orders were issued after Mr. Babu wrote a letter to the government stating that most have farmers agreed to accept LPS and requested issue of orders for acquiring 687 acres for the airport.
So land will now be acquired from the farmers of Kesarapalli, Buddhavaram and Ajjampudi, which lie around the airport.
