Telangana planning water aerodromes
Hyderabad: Telangana State is now exploring setting up water aerodromes at several irrigation projects in the State. One such has already been proposed at Nagarjuna Sagar, said Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy. Speaking at the inaugural of the civil aviation industry event ‘Wings India 2022’ here at the Begumpet airport on Friday, […]
Hyderabad: Telangana State is now exploring setting up water aerodromes at several irrigation projects in the State. One such has already been proposed at Nagarjuna Sagar, said Telangana Roads and Buildings Minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy.
Speaking at the inaugural of the civil aviation industry event ‘Wings India 2022’ here at the Begumpet airport on Friday, he said Telangana also has plans to set up helipads in all districts at the integrated collectorate complexes. The State is also planning to set up an aerospace university in association with industry.
“In line with the theme ‘Flying for all’ of the Wings India event, we have proposed to set up three greenfield airports and three brownfield airports in Telangana. The greenfield airports are proposed in Bhadradri Kothagudem, Nizamabad and Mahabubnagar. The brownfield airports are proposed in Mamnoor in Warangal, Basant Nagar in Peddapalli and Adilabad. The techno-feasibility studies have been completed for these are under the examination of the government,” he said.
Feasibility report
The State has proposed a water aerodrome in Nagarjuna Sagar and the feasibility report is completed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Telangana government is also looking at other locations for other water aerodromes, he said. A water aerodrome or seaplane base is an area of open water used by seaplanes, float-planes and amphibious aircraft for landing and taking off.
“We see MRO as a great opportunity for investment and high value employment generation in the State. Telangana has two MROs operated by GMR and Air India. We are in active discussions with a few OEMs and operators. Our ecosystem offers the best infrastructure and skillbase for the MRO sector,” he said.
Aerospace sector
There is substantial growth in the aerospace sector and Hyderabad has emerged as the most preferred aerospace manufacturing destination. Leading OEMs such as Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, GE, Safran and others have established multiple production lines in Hyderabad. Tata Group has a major presence in Hyderabad. Adani, and Kalyani groups are also expanding in Hyderabad, he said.
Presence of many large as well as SME players augur well for the growth of OEMs. Telangana has five dedicated aerospace parks and over 50 general engineering parks catering to the aerospace, precision and allied segments, he said.
Drone usage
Telangana is the first State to come up with its own drone policy to develop a drone ecosystem in the State. The State government is working with startups and industrial partners to pioneer drone usage in healthcare, agriculture, mining and law enforcement. The Government of Telangana in partnership with World Economic Forum has launched the medicine from sky project. Drones are being used for medicine and vaccine delivery, he said.
Asserting that aerospace is a focus area for Telangana, he said the State was the first one to slash the VAT on the aviation turbine fuel from 16 per cent to one per cent, setting an example for other States to follow. The Telangana Aviation Corporation and Tourism department has been conducting helicopter joyrides in various places in the State. Recently, they were conducted in Mulugu for the Samakka Saralamma jatara.
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