The foundation stone laying ceremony of the
Hyderabad international airport project (now officially renamed to Rajiv Gandhi
International Airport) is being held today (16 March 2005).
The foundation stone will be laid at the hands of
Ms Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson, National Advisory Council.
The initial capacity will be 5 million passengers
per year with an ultimate capacity of 40 million. The cargo capacity envisaged
is 1 lakh tonnes per year. The airport with a runway of 4.26 km is likely to be
operational by 2008.
Hyderabad International Airport Ltd is the
special purpose vehicle executing the project. The GMR group is the leading
consortium partner with Malaysia Airport Holdings being the technical advisor.
Minority shareholders include Airports Authority of India and the Andhra Pradesh
government.
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Hyderabad
airport officially renamed (15-Mar-05)