New Delhi, June 4 (IANS): To give a boost to regional air connectivity, the union government on Thursday said the Kadapa airport in Andhra Pradesh will be inaugurated on June 7.

According to the civil aviation ministry, the airport in the south-central part of Andhra Pradesh was developed at a cost of Rs.42 crore by the Airports Authority of India (AAI).

The ministry said the airport will be inaugurated at a function attended by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

"The first flight at Kadapa will land from Bengaluru at 11.30 a.m. on the day (June 7)," the ministry statement said.

"The AAI in its endeavour to promote regional and remote area connectivity in Tier-II and III cities has completed the development of Kadapa airport at the cost of Rs.42 crore," the statement added.

The statement noted that the new airport has been erected using a compact pre-fabricated terminal building with a capacity to handle 100 peak hour passengers at a time.

"The runway is capable to handle ATR-72 type of aircraft operations. The new apron can accommodate three ATR-72 type of aircraft.

The ministry saidt the airport will be expanded to handle larger Airbus A320 type of aircraft as and when the passenger traffic grows.

"To facilitate the development of Kadapa airport, the state government of Andhra Pradesh has made available 520 acres of land," the statement added.