Support to expedite Bhogapuram Airport: AP to Centre
DURING his two-day trip to New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made a fervent appeal to the Central Government to support expediting work on the Bhogapuram International Airport.
CM Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy presenting a memento to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday
Visakhapatnam: DURING his two-day trip to New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy made a fervent appeal to the Central Government to support expediting work on the Bhogapuram International Airport.
The airport project at Bhogapuram, about 40 km from Visakhapatnam has been awarded to GMR Group. Land acquisition is in the advanced stage of completion. During a meeting with Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on the day-1, he sought site clearance early and complete patronage to complete it within three years as Visakhapatnam Airport is also used for naval purposes. He also reminded the Centre that it had promised to help all the sectors including aviation for a period of 10 years at the time of bifurcation.
On Tuesday, the Chief Minister met Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and thanked him for sanctioning various National Highway projects to the State. During an hour-long meeting with the Union Transport Minister, the Chief Minister held discussions on preparation of DPR for the National Highway from Visakhapatnam Port to Bhogapuram via Rushikonda and Bheemili. He said the proposed road is very useful for Visakhapatnam and it will shorten the distance from Visakhapatnam port to Odisha and Chhattisgarh and added that it will go close to the beach corridor projects along the coast.
He said it will contribute to the development of tourism in the region and provide easy access to Bhogapuram International Airport. He has sought a six-lane highway considering traffic congestion in Visakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister has requested Gadkari to consider the State Government's previous appeal to grant bypass road on the eastern side of Vijayawada and said land acquisition will be completed as soon as possible and added that exemption will be given on SGST and royalty to reduce the cost of the project . The Chief Minister has requested to extend the four-lane road in Bapatla as part of construction of NH-216 of Kathipudi-Ongole Corridor as there is a possibility of traffic jams again due to educational institutions, tourists and the air base.
Immediately after arrival in Delhi, he met and asked Prime Minister Natendra Modi to approve the revised cost estimates for the Polavaram project. He said the cost has been estimated at Rs 55,657 crore at 2017-18 price level including drinking water component of Rs 4,000 crore and release of pending amount of Rs 2,100 crore already incurred by the State.
