Thoothukudi (Tamil Nadu), Jul 26 (PTI) Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Saturday said the Centre was planning to convert the old terminal here into a dedicated cargo terminal to unlock new possibilities for farmers, fishermen, traders and small industries in the district.
At present, seafood is transported to Kochi and Bengaluru, and with this dedicated cargo terminal, Thoothukudi could become a seafood export hub, he said.
“You have Thovalai flower market 70 km away in Kanyakumari district. They use the Thiruvananthapuram airport now. In future, you can send flowers with their fresh scent across the world,” Rammohan said while speaking at the inauguration of the new terminal building of the Thoothukudi airport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Even banana and palm growers could utilise the new cargo terminal, which we will build here. We have set an ambitious goal for the cargo sector to attain 21 million metric tons by 2047,” he said.
To ensure this, the Civil Aviation Ministry was drawing inspiration from the Prime Minister’s initiative of ‘one district, one product’ and would ensure ‘one airport, one product’ for the cargo terminals.
“We are going to streamline the cargo services so that the best products of the area could be transported to other parts of the country and world… Important locations in the neighbouring districts will be connected with Thoothukudi,” the Minister added.
A 300 kv solar plant was commissioned at the new terminal at the airport here, and this project would offset 4,000 to 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the next ten years. “This is equivalent to planting 10,000 saplings,” Rammohan Naidu claimed.
He further said, “Not just Thoothukudi airport, we have done this across states, in Tiruchirappalli and Chennai, too. The economic impact of the airport is far beyond infrastructure… the Modi government operationalised one airport every 50 days in the last ten years. No other country has done it.” Inaugurating one new airport every 50 days was a record, which no other country has set, he claimed and attributed this spectacular development to “the strength of Modiji’s leadership.” The growth in the aviation sector increased the number of jobs by 102 per cent from 2017 till now. This translated to over five lakh direct jobs getting created in the next three to four years.
“These airports are transformers of regional economy. India has doubled its size in just ten years. I am proud that aviation is one of the key players of the growth. We have doubled the number of airports, aircraft, and air travellers in the country,” the Minister said. PTI JSP ROH
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