Bhogapuram Airport
Timeline
Planning (2015–2018)
The proposal for setting up a Greenfield airport was planned during the N. Chandrababu Naidu government in 1997 under the Andhra Pradesh state at Visakhapatnam. Alternate sites like Sabbavaram, Achyutapuram and Koruprolu were also considered. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) gave its technical approval of the project site in June 2015. The request for proposals (RFP) for the project was issued in July 2016, and AAI and the GMR Group submitted their technical and financial bids in August 2017.
The current Visakhapatnam Airport is a civil enclave on a naval airfield which operates only limited international flights due to its status as a "restricted international airport", while the Navy proposed the flying slots for civilians in the existing airport and hence suffers from constraints.
Pre-Construction (2019–2022)
The airport's foundation stone was laid by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N. Chandrababu Naidu on 14 February 2019, with initial plans to develop the mega aerotropolis on an estimated 5,311 acres of land, consisting of Bhogapuram Airport, cargo facilities, an MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) facility and an aviation academy. The government has only acquired 2,703 acres of land because of land agitation from locals, including 1,673 acres of government land allotted for the project.
An in-principle approval has been granted for the project, that would be developed by the government of Andhra Pradesh under a public–private partnership (PPP) basis. A pre-bid meeting was held in August 2018, for which 13 developers showed interest in developing this airport. The government finally approved the GMR Group, who also operates the international airports of Indira Gandhi International Airport at New Delhi and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad.
However, the successive YSRCP government fixed 2,200 acres to GMR Group and reduced the land for the purpose while keeping aside 500 acres of land under the state government. The airport would be constructed on a final 2,200-acre site in and around Bhogapuram that serves the city of Visakhapatnam. It would be built by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by the GMR Group that was set up in June 2020. The project would be taken up in the PPP mode with the state holding a stake in the form of land holdings.
The proposed airport is 45 km away from Visakhapatnam, 25 km away from Vizianagaram and 63 km away from Srikakulam cities. The airport majorly serves the North Coastal Andhra region and is expected as a major source of employment in the region. The region is connected to the proposed airport by National Highway 16, National Highway 26 currently and also through Vizag beach corridor and Vizag metro in the future. While APSRTC plans to run connecting buses to nearby cities, Vizianagaram junction is the nearest railway station at a distance of 26 km.
Currently, one 3800m long runway of 10/28 orientation is being constructed along with MRO facilities.
In September 2022, Indian Navy officials have agreed to move the Visakhapatnam Airport to Bhogapuram. Regarding this, Indian Navy and Andhra Pradesh Airports Development Corporation Limited (APADCL) officials has signed a MOU in New Delhi. On the other hand, only 28 more acres have to be collected for construction in Bhogapuram. The trial in the court cases on this issue has been completed and the verdict is in reserve.
Construction (2023–present)
The construction begins, the project is expected to be completed by December 2025. The project is planned to be developed in 3-phased manner. Upon completion of Phase 1, the terminal handling capacity is expected to be 6.3 million passengers per year, and is further expected to rise to 12 million passengers per year upon completion of Phase 2. By the completion of the phase 3, the total passenger capacity is expected to touch 18 million passengers per year. The phase 1 is estimated at a cost of ₹4,592 crore (US$550 million).
In May 2024, news reports suggested that the airport construction will be completed within 18 months. Many infrastructure projects are being developed for connectivity between Visakhapatnam and the airport. The land for the project was acquired from the farmers a few years back and the project is delayed due to the compensation issues that were settled in the court. About 450 families were relocated to a new settlement called airport colony.