Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday inaugurated the new international terminal of the Thiruvananthapuram Airport. He had arrived at this decision after months of uncertainty. The new international terminal will commence from March 1.

The major objective of launching the new container terminal at Vallarpadam and the new airport terminal of international standards is to improve the transport infrastructure and connectivity in the state, said by Prime Minister in his inaugural speech.

The Prime Minister also said that it is a token of love to the nation and especially to the lakhs of Keralites working abroad. The new airport terminal will provide a new connectivity and benefit the people who are working abroad for the welfare of the country and their families.

He further said that in recent past aviation sector has shown its unparallel growth and this segment has the potential to absorb investment of over US $ 120 billion. It is also expected that this sector has the potential to create lakhs of job opportunities directly and indirectly. It is predictable that passenger traffic will grow this decade.

Prime Minister also said that handling huge volume of passenger traffic through modern and efficient infrastructure requires massive investment.