Andhra Pradesh government is expeditiously working on plans to bring the emerging capital Amaravati into the railway map of India. As of now the green field capital has no rail connectivity. The state is studying the possibility completion of railway connectivity by the time the core capital is ready 2018. On Tuesday, chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao discussed the matter with the officials of department of Infrastructure and investment. If rail connectivity is not established by 2018, Amaravati would become a state capital without rail connectivity outside north east.
The chief secretary directed Ajay Jain, secretary I&I, to focus on railway connectivity of Amaraavati on priority basis and get a new railway line sanctioned for the Capital City. He asked the I&I Secretary to study the feasibility of by connecting Vijayawada-Chennai lane with Guntur-Macherla lane via Amaravati. He instructed all the concerned to start negotiations with South Central Railway authorities on Amaravati connectivity.
The chief secretary also reviewed the performance of Airports for the current year. He was informed that the state recorded a growth of 49% in Passenger Traffic till October 2015. He asked the official to to ensure that the new Passenger Terminal building at Tirupati Airport, inaugurated on October 22, by the Prime Minister, is functional by the end of this month. Four additional parking bays and one isolation bay works have been finalized and likely to be completed by July 2016. Out of 732 acres 725 acres of land has been handed over to Airport Authority of India (AAI) for expansion of runway under Phase-I. The According to officials, the Tirupati airport is likely to get the tag of International Airport by the end of the year 2015. Works on customs and immigration counters are underway. The chief secretary was informed that works for the construction of new passenger terminal at Vijayawada Airport taken up at a cost of Rs.137 crore under progress and the steps to upgrade the Airport to International Standards are being perused actively. In another development, the development of Rajahmundry Airport has gained momentum. Detailed estimates for expansion of runway, works for construction of three additional Apron bays are under progress. The state government has initiated the process of transferring 857 acres of the required land for expansion of the Airport to AAI by end of this month.
Progress of Bhogapuram (Vizianagaram) International Airport has been also reviewed in the meeting and Secretary I&I has been advised to expedite the all the works related to the construction of airport.
