697 acres to be acquired for the expansion of Gannavaram airport

Vijayawada, Aug 29: The Krishna district officials have received instruction of Collector A. Babu to initiate the process of acquiring land for the expansion of Gannavaram airport. They also received orders for the diversion of Eluru canal. The district administration is likely to issue a notification in this regard in the next few days, reports said. Sources said, the collector had held an emergency meeting on this issue with officials from Irrigation, Revenue, Irrigation, Roads & Buildings Departments and Airports Authority of India (AAI) at Sub-Collector’s office in Vijayawada. According to the collector, at least 697.02 acres will be needed to develop the Gannavaram airport, which is located 18 km from Vijayawada. There is a proposal to upgrade the airport to an international airport, he said. The district administration and the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA) are empowered with the task of pooling land for the airport's expansion.