The Andhra Pradesh Government has expedited works for the construction of the Greenfield Airport at Dagadarthi mandal in Nellore district. The government had recently approved the detailed project report (DPR) submitted by the Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Ltd. The DPR was prepared by the Nellore Airport Corporation Ltd, which was established for the construction of the airport. After the State Government approved the report on December 21 last year, officials expect to start the first phase of works in April this year. The domestic airport is being constructed in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) mode. A domestic airport was proposed at Dagadarthi in around 1,379.71 acres. Even as the process of land acquisition was still underway, the land requirement increased to 1,861.2 acres after a proposal to operate cargo flights was made.
SCL-Turbo, a consortium of Nellore International Airport Private Ltd, had signed a concession agreement for the development of the airport in 2018. Nellore International Airport has also planned a cargo hub expecting huge demand from local industries, Krishnapatnam Port as well as from nearby cities including Chennai, Tirupati, Sri City and others. With only Chennai port facilitating most of the cargo services, chances are business will be diverted to Nellore Airport after its construction. The district administration has acquired 1,065.3 acre for the airport in Dagadarthi, Velupodu, Damavaram and K Korugunta villages. They are taking measures for setting up of medium and small scale industries close to the airport, so that employment can be generated.