Hyderabad: Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh answered in the affirmative when Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao asked in the Upper House Monday if seaplanes and helicopters would be operated from the cruise terminal to be constructed at Visakhapatnam Port.
VK Singh said the ministry would be willing to consider the proposals submitted by airline operators under the UDAN scheme in future bidding rounds for new routes.
The minister said the Centre had approved 28 seaplane routes under UDAN to increase air connectivity to remote areas and lower the cost of travel. At the cost of Rs 287 crore, as many as 14 water aerodromes are being built for this purpose in six states and union territories. At a cost of Rs 20 crore each, the water aerodromes are being built as part of this project in Telangana's Nagarjunasagar reservoir and Andhra Pradesh's Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada.
Rajya Sabha MP Narasimha Rao said the Andhra Pradesh government should invite airline operators to bid for seaplane and helicopter services from Visakhapatnam and provide concessions. As cruise tourism has already received a positive response from Visakhapatnam, seaplane and helicopter services should be promoted on a large scale to promote regional connectivity and tourism, he said.
Rao opined that seaplane services to areas like Bhimavaram and Kakinada would significantly improve connectivity and boost business tourism in a big way. He said he would discuss this matter with Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Rao had said last month the construction of the cruise terminal in Visakhapatnam would be completed by April 2023, and that it would mainly cater to cruise liners coming from India and abroad.
(With inputs from ABP Desam — It is a Telugu platform of ABP News. For more news, commentary and latest happenings from two Telugu states, follow https://telugu.abplive.com//amp)