VISAKHAPATNAM: India is expected to manufacture its first fully indigenous civil aircraft within the next two years, Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu said at the 31st CII Partnership Summit in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Speaking at a plenary session on ‘The Next Step for Indian Aviation: Connectivity, Capacity, Competitiveness’, he said the number of airports in the country had increased from 74 in 2014 to 166. The UDAN scheme had helped expand air travel, with annual passenger traffic reaching 25 crore.
Under the second phase of UDAN, the government plans to invest Rs 30,000 crore to develop 100 more airports and 200 modern heliports by 2036, he said.
Ram Mohan Naidu said Digi Yatra had reduced passenger entry time at airports from 90 seconds to 20 seconds.
He said Bhogapuram International Airport had been completed six months ahead of schedule. The Andhra Pradesh government also plans to establish an Aerospace and Defence City near Lepakshi in Anantapur district.
Plans were being prepared to launch seaplane services linking Prakasam Barrage, Srisailam and Hussainsagar in Hyderabad, he said.
The minister urged industries and young entrepreneurs to explore opportunities in aircraft component manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul, drones and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
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