The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on Friday completed 10 years with the laying of foundation stone of expansion, which will take the overall capacity of the facility to 40 million passengers per annum.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao laid the foundation stone for the expansion at the decennial celebrations.
The event also saw launch of Airport City and foundation stone for Exhibition and Convention Centre.
During 2017-18, the airport is projected to handle 18 million passengers.
GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL), the airport operator, had earlier stated that the initial expansion plans to increase the capacity to 25 million passengers may cost Rs 2,500 crore. It is expected to be completed in two and a half years.
G.M. Rao, Chairman of GMR Group, recalled that despite all the apprehensions, the world-class airport was completed five months ahead of schedule and became operational on March 23, 2008.
The airport handled 6.2 million passengers in its first financial year.
Tne airport currently has nine domestic carriers connecting 40 destinations across India, and 15 foreign operators ferrying passengers to 20 international locations.
--IANS
ms/mr
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