The State government on Wednesday  sanctioned Rs 274 cr for acquisition of 857 acre of land for the expansion of the Rajahmundry Airport. According to a GO issued here, the amount was being sanctioned on the request of the East Godavari District Collector.

The expansion of Rajahmundry airport is being done to facilitate landing of big aircraft and night landing facility.

The airport now located in about 366 acre can accommodate only two aircraft. The daily passenger traffic here is about 400. Spice Jet and Jet Airways operate two flights between Rajahmundry and Hyderabad.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has proposed to expand the runway to 3,165 metres from the existing 1,749 metres. About 857 acre is needed for the expansion works of the airport.

The expansion of runway facilitates landing of Code-D-Aircraft in future and helps meet the increasing air traffic. Night landing facility at the airport is important for launching long distance flights from Mumbai and Delhi. Also, it will facilitate more number of flights from Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Tirupati.

The airport is gaining importance as many oil majors, chemical firms and other industries are located in East Godavari district.