By IANS
Hyderabad : The new Hyderabad international airport at Shamshabad here is nearing completion and will commence its first commercial operations on March 16 next year.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy Thursday wrote a letter to ruling UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, requesting her to inaugurate the airport named after her late husband, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
On March 16, 2005 Sonia Gandhi had laid the foundation stone for the world-class airport, the country’s first airport project under a public-private partnership, said a statement from the chief minister’s office.
“The airport will be a boon to Greater Hyderabad, and it will be a big day for Andhra Pradesh and the nation, when Sonia Gandhi dedicates the Greenfield airport to the nation,” said the chief minister while reviewing the progress of the project with top officials.
He said the inauguration of the airport would attract huge investments in all sectors of development in Greater Hyderabad.
“The effort of the state government towards transforming the 400-year-old historic city into a new hub of industry, including information technology, biotechnology, tourism and an important centre for international investors, is fast shaping into a reality,” Reddy said.
The new airport with world-class facilities will provide much-needed infrastructure to handle large aircraft and international traffic in a big way.
It will have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers a year initially, and in the later stage it will cater 40 million passengers. It is being built on 5,400 acres of land, at an expenditure of Rs.26.25 billion.
The chief minister has directed the officials to expedite the work on outer ring road, the expressway, to improve connectivity to the airport from the city.
The airport is being built by GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL), a joint venture company promoted by GMR Infrastructure. The other partners in the project are Malaysian Airports Holding Berhad, Airports Authority of India and the Andhra Pradesh government.