The Andhra Pradesh government and GMR group have signed an agreement for the development of the Bhogapuram International Airport in Visakhapatnam. At present, the Vizag airport is operated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) and also houses the Indian Navy’s Dega base. The agreement was signed in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy at his camp office. The agreement between the Andhra government and GAL involves the design, building, finance, construction, development, operation and maintenance of Greenfield International Airport at Bhogapuram for a period of 40 years, extendable by additional 20 years through an international competitive bidding process, with GMR airports limited having RoFR (Right of First Refusal) of 10 per cent.
The Bhogapuram airport project was cleared by the state government. As against the original plan of providing 2,700 acres, the developer will now get 2,200 acres. The state government would be developing the remaining 500 acres. The connectivity between Vizag and the airport will be developed and all steps will be taken for laying a Metro train line from the airport to city, as per reports. The proposed Greenfield airport site lies on the border of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram districts and is approximately 45 kms from Vizag city through NH-5 and 25 kms from Vizianagaram via NH-43. Located strategically on the east coast, it stands to benefit from the vast catchment area surrounding the region. Moreover, 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.