The Andhra Pradesh government gave its nod to the Revenue Department to allocate roughly 639 acres of land across several villages in Kurnool, for building a greenfield airport at Orvakallu.
According to reports, the villages include Orvakal, Pudicherla and Kannamadakala and the airport will be built by the Bhogapuram International Airport Corporation Limited (BIACL).
The Hindu reported that the allotment was subject to payment of market value at the rate of Rs 8 lakh per acre and some other conditions.
This comes a few months after the Civil Aviation Ministry recommended an 'in principle' approval to three new greenfield projects in the state.
The Steering Committee on Greenfield Airports, headed by Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey, considered the proposals for four new airport projects.
"The committee recommended 'in principle' approval to three projects in Andhra Pradesh viz., Bhogapuram, Dagadarthi (Nellore) and Orvakallu (Kurnool)," the ministry said in a statement.
"The committee also recommended for 'site clearance' to the project of Kothagudem in Telangana," it added.
While the new international airport at Bhogapuram would be developed by the state government under PPP (Public Private Partnership), the other two airports were to be developed as "domestic no-frills airports with an estimated cost of Rs 88 crore each."
"These clearances are expected to enhance the aviation infrastructure facilities in newly created states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and will also boost the regional connectivity scheme announced recently by the Government of India," the statement said.
IANS inputs