Hyderabad: The Centre has accorded approval for three new airports in AP and permission for the landing of flights at Kothagudem airport in Khammam of Telangana state as part of its Regional Air Connectivity Scheme.
A high-level committee of the Ministry of Civil Aviation met in New Delhi on Monday in this regard, giving the AP government the go-ahead to establish the three new airports that it had proposed in the state at Bhogapuram in Visakhapatnam district, Dagadarthi in Nellore district and Orvakallu in Kurnool district. Both AP and TS had proposed many new airports.
MOCA had given in-principle approval to Bhogapuram and Dagadarthi airports, with the state government having already initiated processes at these places.
MOCA also gave preliminary permission for flights to land at the proposed airport at Kottagudem, Khammam district, where the TS government will establish a Greenfield airport.
Chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had in January 2015 contacted Union civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and requested support for its construction. The TS government approved a pre-feasibility study for the project that was undertaken in 2015. The Kothagudem airport will come up on about 1,500 acres.
It was at a Cabinet meeting held on September 22 at Vijayawada that the state government decided to sign the agreement with the central government and the Airports Authority of India to establish more airports in the state under the central government’s RACS. The state government will take up the construction of these airports under the Public Private Partnership Mode.
