AP to seek Central nod for Shamshabad-type airport at 'people's capital' Amaravati

Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to seek clearance from Ministry of Civil Aviation for construction of a greenfield airport at Amaravati on the lines of Shamshabad Airport in Hyderabad.

The airport will be developed in an area of 5,000 acres for 24x7 all-weather operation as part of Amaravati 2.0 expansion.

For the first phase of Amaravati capital city, works worth over Rs.1 lakh crore are under implementation with loans from Asian Development Bank, World Bank and HUDCO. The first phase is scheduled to be operational in 2028.

Officials sources told Bizz Buzz that a formal request will be made soon to the ministry for getting the permission.

At the 50th meeting of the Capital Region Development Authority (CRDA), chaired by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, several proposals were approved to accelerate the development of the 'people's capital' Amaravati.

CRDA gave its approval to seven major items that will support ongoing and upcoming infrastructure works.

The meeting was attended by Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana, Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand and senior officials from CRDA, Amaravati Development Corporation, Finance Department, and the Chief Commissioner of Land Administration (CCLA).

CRDA approved the pooling of 20,494 acres across various villages in the capital region under the Land Pooling Scheme (LPS) following guidelines framed for acquiring lands for first phase of Amaravati in 2015.

Now land pooling as per consent obtained from farmers will be made in Vaikunthapuram, Pedamaddur, Yandrai, and Karlapudilemalle villages in Amaravati mandal of Palnadu district, as well as Vaddamanu, Harischandrapuram, and Pedaparimi villages in Tullur mandal of Guntur district.

The land is intended for the continued development of the capital city.The CRDA also approved proposals for the construction of four international-standard convention centers near upcoming five-star hotels in Amaravati. The authority has decided to allocate 2.5 acres for each center.

These centers will be located near the Vivanta and Hilton hotels in Mandadam, Hyatt Regency in Tullur, and Novotel in Lingayapalem. The projects will follow a quality-based selection process, aiming to strengthen Amaravati’s capacity to host large-scale national and international events.

To support the massive construction activity underway in Amaravati, the CRDA was granted permission to dredge and desilt sand from the Krishna River. CRDA estimates that approximately 160 lakh cubic meters of sand will be required over the next two years for various infrastructure projects worth Rs 49,040 crore. The sand will be extracted upstream of the Prakasam Barrage, and the desilting operation is expected to cost Rs.286 crore.

The Water Resources Department has been requested to grant the necessary permissions to carry out the dredging.