NEW DELHI: The Director of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted licence to Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Limited (APDCL) to open Kurnool Airport at Orvakal on Friday.

The approval was granted after completion of all the mandatory safety inspections and creation of infrastructure.

The licence approves it as Aircraft Rescue and Fire fighting (ARFF) category of aerodrome, the certificate signed by the DGCA on January 15 said.

The Orvakal airport is spread over 970 acres and is at a distance of 20 km from Kurnool.The airport is 350 km from Vijayawada and 360 km from Bengaluru while the other nearest major international airport is Hyderabad, which is about 200 km away.

It will be the first airport in South India to be entirely developed by a State government.

It has four parking bays. The airport can operate the ATR-72/ Q-400 category of aircraft.

For fire fighting and rescue operations, the airport has two Rosenbauer airfield crash fire tenders (ACFTs) and an ambulance besides an Advanced Air Traffic Advisory System (AATAS).

The State government is in the process of getting facilities like night landing system and a pilot training centre at the airport at a brisk pace

The successful bidder will get a long-term lease for construction of hangar, building, facilities, and other infrastructure.

AP Industries Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said the State government had spent Rs150 crore in the past year and lauded the efforts of Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy in getting the vital aerodrome licence for the airport from the Centre. The new airport will reduce the travel time to Visakhapatnam and other major cities in the State and would also boost industrial development in the Rayalaseema region. (With inputs from The Hindu and TNIE)