As part of the improving the connectivity of emerging capital city Amaravati, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday laid the foundation stone for the new airport terminal building at Gannavaram near Vijayawada. The ceremony was attended by the Union Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the Union Urban Development and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, M Venkaiah Naidu, the Union Science and Technology Minister, YS Chowdary, among others,

The terminal is being developed with an outlay of Rs 137 crore, along with other amenities. The project cost is 150 crore and it will have a capacity to handle about 500 passengers in an hour, 250 departing and 250 arriving. The airport terminal building will be spread over 9,520 sq.m. and located on a 540-acre site. The State Government has already initiated steps to upgrade the connectivity from Vijayawada and the new upcoming town of Amaravati to the airport.

Meanwhile, the new terminal building developed at the temple town of Tirupati by the Airports Authority of India with an outlay of Rs 175 crore is scheduled to be formally inaugurated by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on October 22 when he arrives in AP for the foundation ceremony of the new capital Amaravati.

The terminal has been developed over a 16,500 sq.m. and has a capability to handle 700 passengers.