Mangalore airport’s new terminal building was inaugurated recently by India’s minister of state for civil aviation Praful Patel. Speaking to reporters at the event Patel said a proposal seeking international airport status for Mangalore would be placed before the cabinet in the near future.

The new integrated terminal building was a pre-requisite for upgrading the status of the airport, he said adding that the other requirement is the availability of a 9,000 ft (2,743 metre) runway. “Money is not a problem and there are no other issues hindering this development,” he said adding that work order of extending the runway would be issued soon and the Airport Authority of India would also build a cargo complex at the airport. “Once the extended runway is ready, larger cargo airliners would start operations here,” he said.

In his inaugural address, the minister said Indian civil aviation market, which is the ninth largest in the world at present, will be counted in the top five in the next five years.