Modi govt doubled TN airports’ capacity: Civil aviation minister

Madurai: The NDA govt led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has doubled the capacity and passenger network of all airports in Tamil Nadu, and this is the vision it has for the state, civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu said at Madurai airport on Saturday. He was speaking at an event to officially declare the airport as an international airport. He also inaugurated the new ATC tower-cum-technical block at the airport.Naidu said aviation has become inclusive under Modi's leadership. The common man can proudly take a flight to anywhere in the country as some kind of airport infrastructure will be there in the vicinity. If there were 74 airports in 2014, there are 166 across the country now. In Tamil Nadu, a Rs2,500 crore terminal building is under construction in Chennai, another opened in Tuticorin a few months ago, while runway expansion enabled Airbus landings. A new terminal building became operational at Salem under UDAN scheme. He said whenever a new scheme is implemented, the first landing takes place is Tamil Nadu. "This is something stronger, a personal bond that our PM Modi carries with Tamil Nadu," he said.He said declaration of Madurai airport as an international airport will lead to development of the region. During 2013-2014, the airport had passenger traffic of 6.7 lakh, which has risen to 14 lakh now. "More than double the passengers are utilising Madurai airport. With international status, more flights will be added from around the country and the world," he said.He said Meenakshi Sundareshwarar temple will see more visitors and Madurai malli (jasmine) will go all over the world with the new status, which will increase the cargo network in the future.The new ATC tower and technical block built at around Rs94 crore will facilitate a 360-degree unrestricted view of the entire runway. Airport director P Muthu Kumar said the new taller tower has been built with a novel, cutting-edge pillar-free glazing and will come in handy once the runway expansion of 1.5 kilometres is complete. It is an 8-floor building standing at a height of 46.2 metres, including the 6-metre-long antenna. The adjoining technical block is a four-floor building with updated equipment bringing the airport to modern standards with GRIHA 4 green rating, according to the director.Union minister of state for information & broadcasting L Murugan, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan, Virudhunagar MP Manickam Tagore, and Thiruparankundram MLA V V Rajan Chellappa were also present.