Vijayawada: After the successful completion of the trial run of the seaplane from Prakasam Barrage in Vijayawada to Srisailam reservoir, the state govt has decided to roll out seaplane services from Amaravati, Tirupati, and Gandikota in the first phase. As part of promoting tourism and increasing air connectivity, the state govt proposed eight places for starting seaplane services, which include Amaravati, Tirupati, Gandikota, Araku, Lambasingi, Konaseema, Srisailam, and Rushikonda.Out of the eight places selected, the state govt has decided to start the services from Amaravati, Tirupati, and Gandikota. Water aerodromes will be constructed in Prakasam Barrage in Amaravati, Kalyani Dam in Tirupati, and Gandikota Reservoir. On Nov 9, 2024, Union civil aviation minister K Rammohan Naidu, along with chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, travelled in the test flight from Prakasam Barrage to Srisailam.The Andhra Pradesh airports development corporation limited (APADCL) invited bids for conducting techno-feasibility studies and for the preparation of detailed project reports (DPR). According to sources, though the govt called for bids for eight locations, it decided to prepare DPRs for three locations in the first phase. While Rites bagged the DPR works for Amaravati and Gandikota, Feedback Highways was allotted the work of the Tirupati water aerodrome project.The Union govt included seaplane services under the UDAN scheme and identified about 56 routes where seaplane services can be started. Out of the 56 routes, as many as 32 routes are in Andhra Pradesh, where there is potential for starting seaplane services. As infrastructure development holds the key, 11 locations have been identified for building water aerodromes in a phased manner.The three locations were chosen in the first phase based on the functional airport in proximity and also based on the suggestion of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who asked to design tourism circuits connecting popular temples with cost-effective seaplane services.
