WITH the formal inauguration of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport on the outskirts of Hyderabad on March 14 by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi, India will have its first greenfield airport. Developed on 5,500 acres (1 acre = 0.4 hectare) in Shamshabad at an initial cost of Rs.2,478 crore, the airport will significantly upgrade infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh and also improve Hyderabad's position on the global aviation map. Commercial operations of the airport, which can cater even to giant aircraft such as the A380, will commence two days after the formal inauguration. The airport is designed to cater to 40 million passengers a year. The State government is planning to put in place approach roads and other ancillary infrastructure, such as the P.V. Narasimha Rao Expressway, to facilitate movement to and from the airport. It is confident that the city will become a major destination-cum-transit hub between the East and the West given its strategic geographical position