Andhra Pradesh: Construction Work Begins At Bhogapuram International Airport Near Vizag

The construction of the Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport, for which Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy laid the foundation stone on 3 May, commenced on Wednesday (1 November).

GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Ltd (GVIAL), a 100 per cent subsidiary of GMR Airports Ltd (GAL), is the concessionaire for the development and operations of Bhogapuram Airport.

The project involves the design, finance, construction, development, operation and maintenance of the airport for a period of 40 years, extendable by an additional 20 years.

This new airport project, in the bustling coastal city of Andhra Pradesh, which also boasts of a major port and a steel unit, is part of GMR's strategic push to expand its aviation infrastructure business.

The Vizag airport will mark GMR's fourth major airport in India, joining the ranks of those in Delhi, Hyderabad and Goa.

The international airport project, with an estimated cost of Rs 4,592 crore, will be executed in three phases.

During the initial phase, the airport will be designed to accommodate six million passengers per annum (MPPA), and its total capacity will subsequently increase to 18 MPPA in the following two phases.

As per The New Indian Express report, the rehabilitation and relief process has been successfully concluded, and the engineering, procurement, and construction bid has been finalised.

The necessary funds have been secured from various participating financial institutions and banks.

The new airport will occupy 2,203.26 acres of land, featuring a Category 1-enabled runway spanning 3,800 metres and a 5,000-square-metre cargo terminal.

The airport is located about 50 km from the coastal city of Visakhapatnam in Bhogapuram. The new airport will encompass more than 2,200 acres of area.

It will serve as an alternative to the existing airport in Vizag, primarily constructed to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy.

The greenfield airport was proposed in Bhogapuram after Andhra Pradesh's bifurcation in 2014. The previous Telugu Desam Party government facilitated the acquisition of 2,700 acres of land and entrusted it to the GMR Group for the project.

Significance

This airport is expected to play a pivotal role in the state's development and boost tourism in northern Andhra Pradesh.

This new airport is set to serve not only the residents of North Coastal Andhra but also those from the hinterland of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, as well as improve the cargo movement from these regions.

There is significant potential for the export of shrimp, bulk drugs, agriculture products, and cashews from this region.

The airport is expected to provide jobs for roughly 5,000 people, both directly and indirectly.

“The world-class facility is expected to increase connectivity between North Andhra and various parts of the world, resulting in an impetus to the growth of industries and service sector in the region, besides increase in revenue to the exchequer,” officials explained.

A beach corridor development is underway, in proximity to the proposed international airport in Bhogapuram, which will provide impetus to retail and hospitality developments in the region.