After missing various deadlines, Kadapa Airport in Andhra Pradesh is all set to take wings with state Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu scheduled to inaugurate it on Sunday.
The opening function would be presided over by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who is a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP.
The first plane at Kadapa Airport, an Air Pegasus flight from Bengaluru, will land at 11.30 am on that day, an official release said today.
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The airport has been constructed by the state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) at an investment of Rs 42 crore as part of the government's efforts to promote regional and remote area connectivity in Tier-II and III cities.
Andhra Pradesh has provided 520 acres of land to facilitate the development of the airport, which has a new compact pre-fabricated terminal building with a capacity to cater to 100 passengers at peak hours.
The 1,719 m-long and 45-m wide runway can at present handle an ATR-72 type of aircraft while the new apron can accommodate up to three such aircraft at a time, the release said.
The airport apron is the area of an airport where aircraft are parked, unloaded or loaded, refuelled, or boarded.
Depending upon the growth of passenger traffic, expansion and upgrading of the airport will be done to handle operations of bigger aircraft, such as an Airbus A320, the release said.
With Kadapa set to get on the aviation map of the country, it would not only enhance the business potential and employment opportunities, but also give impetus to the economic growth of the city and the region, it added.
