Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday hinted at the possibility of second international airport near Siddipet in addition to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad on outskirts of Hyderabad.
He said that Siddipet is a very dynamic place and is in very close vicinity to capital city. "In future, within boundaries of Siddipet district, we can expect another international airport to come up," he said after laying the foundation stone for Information Technology Tower at Duddeda village in Kondapak mandal of Siddipet.
This is not the first time KCR spoke about the need for more international airports.
After formation of the Telangana state in 2014, he had said Hyderabad will require at least two more airports in the near future as the city's population is expected to touch three crore with the development of the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR).
"Hyderabad's population in 2014 is 94 lakh. We are soon to develop a Rs 2.30 lakh crore ITIR that will create two more Hyderabads and the population will shoot up to three crore. So, we will require at least two more airports to the east and north of the city to cater to the additional population," he had said.
However, ITIR was later shelved by the Central government.
In his brief remarks on the occasion of laying foundation stone of IT Park, KCR said this will facilitate development of Siddipet on all fronts.
The IT Park is coming at a cost of Rs 45 crore in sprawling 3 acres with 60,000 square feet office space. On this occasion, four IT companies from the US exchanged MoUs with the state government to set up their offices in the IT Park.
KCR on Thursday laid foundation stone and inaugurated several development works in the Siddipet Assembly constituency, which he once represented.
The CM inaugurated Rythu Vedika at Mittapally near Siddipet, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 22 lakh.
He also inaugurated Government Medical College, which was constructed at a cost of Rs 715 crore, and laid the foundation stone for a 1,000-bedded Government Hospital.
The CM inaugurated 2,460 double bed room housing complex in Siddipet which was constructed at a cost of Rs 145 crore.
Addressing a public meeting, KCR spoke about his association with Siddipet and the role the constituency played in making Telangana state a reality.
KCR, who represented Siddipet constituency from 1985 to 2004, remarked that there is no KCR without Siddipet and no Telangana without KCR.
He recalled that when he was elected from both Karimnagar Lok Sabha and Siddipet Assembly seats in 2004, he had to quit as MLA with a heavy heart as he had to move to Delhi to fight for Telangana state.
Stating that there is something special about Siddipet, the Chief Minister said he lived up to people's expectations by delivering Telangana state. He said he was also happy that he gave to people of Siddipet an able leader like Harish Rao.
Harish Rao, who is nephew of KCR, has been representing Siddipet since 2014.
KCR said he was happy to see tremendous development Siddipet has seen under Harish Rao's leadership.
