Bhogapuram set for realty boom?

Visakhapatnam Realty market in and around Bhogapuram is expected to witness a boom on the lines of Shamshabad in South Hyderabad, which became a hotspot for real estate investment in the two Telugu-speaking States due to its close proximity to the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).

With the GMR Group announcing full-fledged launching of construction work on another Greenfield airport at Bhogapuram in Vizianagaram district with an investment of around Rs5,000 crore to handle six million passengers initially in the first phase, at a distance of 45 km from Andhra Pradesh’s largest city of Visakhapatnam, there is buzz that the realty market in the area will see a big boom. The new airport is scheduled to be operational in three years.

The construction of Outer Ring Road (ORR), the launching of the airport at Shamshabad and the announcement to connect 31-km route from Mindspace Junction/Raidurg to Shamshabad at an estimated cost of Rs6,250 crore has led to development of new layouts and gated apartment complexes around the RGIA area.

A similar boom is likely in and around Bhogapuram now. Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has already cleared the six-lane expressway from the city connecting it to Bhogapuram at a cost of about Rs6,500 crore. While the State has to contribute around Rs1,200 crore towards its share, an estimated Rs4,000 crore will be spent on land acquisition on a fast-track mode. As part of a 140-km metro project for Visakhapatnam, there is a proposal to develop connectivity to the new airport in future.

“At present, a lot of marketing is being done by the real estate developers for investment in residential plots. Apartment culture is also expected to take off once the airport construction and the 6-lane expressway works gain pace,” Credai-AP secretary B Srinivasa Rao told Bizz Buzz.

Due to limited availability of land in the city limits, Visakhapatnam is projected to grow towards Madhurawada, Anandapuram and Tagarapuvalasa side. For the airport proposal at Bhogapuram, there was some hype over the realty boom in 2019 after the erstwhile TDP Government laid the foundation stone for the project just before the general elections.

However, the YSRCP after coming to power had to face some legal challenges over land acquisition forcing it to put the project on hold. With the hurdles getting sorted out, the stone for the airport with revised plan and outlay was laid on May 4. When the project hit a roadblock for a long time, the realty prices in the area had nosedived with many opting to sell their plots without any premium.

At present, residential plots are being sold at around Rs15,000 to Rs25,000 per square yard depending on location. Already, the government allotted 40 acres to Oberoi Group to construct a seven-star hotel with 300 villas in Annavaram village near the beachfront and a few km from the airport at a cost of Rs350 crore. Mayfair Hotels and Resorts, which has developed several hotels in Odisha, Goa, West Bengal and other areas, has also been allotted land in the same area for development of a hotel.

Novotel Group Chairman V Prabhu Kishore, who owns the Novotel Hotel buildings at Bheemunipatnam and Visakhapatnam, recently said he may develop another property with seaview near the airport once the demand picks up.

“As per our projects, Visakhapatnam city is poised for big growth with several mega projects in the pipeline. The international airport by GMR Group will be a big game-changer,” Senior Director, Strategic Consulting/Value & Risk Advisory, Jones Lang LaSalle Property Consultants (I) Pvt. Ltd, told Bizz Buzz.