Once Bhogapuram Airport gets ready, civilian flights won't land at Vizag airport

Scheduled commercial operations at the Visakhapatnam airport at the existing Vizag Naval Airfield will be stopped for a period of 30 years and the for mutation of entire 372.72 acres of land in possession of AAI in Vizag Civil Enclave will be mutated in favour of AAI

Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam International Airport, which is now being used for defence and civilian aircraft, will go the Begumpet Airport way once the Bhogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram district becomes operational.

The airport at Visakhapatnam, which recently completed the construction of a second terminal by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), has several restrictions for increase in flying slots for civilian aircraft despite availability of several parking bays.

In fact, airport advisory committee members K Vijay Mohan and O Naresh Kumar have been demanding an increase in flight frequency of domestic flights and introduction of international flights to Kua Lumpur, Dubai, Bangkok and other destinations since the removal of Covid-19 restrictions.

However, it will be curtains down for Visakhapatnam International Airport once Bhogapuram Airport proposed to be developed by GMR Group under PPP mode, about 40 km from the city, becomes operational.

After obtaining clearance from the AP High Court on acquisition of part of land, which was challenged by certain farmers, YSRCP regional coordinator and TTD Chairman YV Subba Reddy during his recent visit to Vizianagaram said work on the airport will be launched soon by GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL), a subsidiary of GMR Airports Limited (GAL).

The greenfield Bhogapuram Airport will have investment of over Rs 2,500 crore and present Visakhapatnam Airport will have no commercial flights for 30 years, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Gen VK Singh (retired) disclosed on Monday in response to a question by MP GVL Narasimha Rao in Rajya Sabha.

The Government of India granted 'site clearance' to Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP) in January, 2016 for development of Bhogapuram Airport. Subsequently, in-principle approval for the project was given by the GoI to AP in October, 2016.

The Minister stated that AP Government has taken up the development of Bhogapuram airport in PPP mode. The land required for development of the airport is approximately 2203 acres and phase-I development of the airport would be able to cater to six million passengers per annum. The initial estimated cost for development of the airport was approximately Rs 2,500 crore. The timeline for completion of the airport project depends upon many factors such as land acquisition, availability of mandatory clearances and financial closure.

As per the MoU with the State government, scheduled commercial operations at the Vizag Civil Enclave (comprising 373 acres of the present Visakhapatnam airport) at the existing Vizag Naval Airfield will be stopped for a period of 30 years and the for mutation of entire 372.72 acres of land in possession of AAI in Vizag Civil Enclave will be mutated in favour of AAI with permission to use the said land for any purpose without any restriction, the Union Minister disclosed.