AP To Appoint Consultant To Speed Up Metro Rail Project In Steel City

Visakhapatnam: While the Alluri Sitharama Raju (Bhogapuram) International Airport construction work is progressing at brisk pace to make it operational by June, 2026, the Andhra Pradesh Government has expedited efforts to kickstart the Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project with the support from the Centre.

After a recent review meeting, Union Minister for Civil Aviation K Rammmohan Naidu declared that the work is being completed at a fast pace to make the greenfield airport at Bhogapuram, about 45 km from Visakhapatnam, being developed by GMR Group operational six months ahead of schedule. The first phase of the project being undertaken at a cost of Rs4,500 crore was originally scheduled to be ready by December, 2026.

Once the ASR International Airport is ready for commercial operations, the Visakhapatnam International Airport located on INS Dega Air Station, will be stopped for commercial flights as it is a Civil Enclave. Once completed the ASR airport will handle six million passengers in Phase-1 and further scale up depending on the demand to 18 million in phases.

Keeping the urgency in view, Andhra Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited (APMRCL) held a pre-bidding conference in Vijayawada on Tuesday, among those who responded to a notification for appointment of consultant for the prestigious project, which has been lying in limbo for nearly a decade. The consultant as per schedule will be finalised on June 9. The consultant will be mandated to plan, tender, supervise and execute the project.

The metro rail project as per revised DPR will have 46.23 km of network with 42 stations. It will be extended up to Bhogapuram for airport connectivity in the second phase. As per revised estimates, the project will cost Rs11,498 crore for three corridors in the first phase.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has formally asked the Centre to fund 100% of the cost going by the difficult financial condition of the State. In the budget speech, Governor Justice (retd) S. Abdul Nazeer had stated the metro rail in Visakhapatnam would be completed by 2029.