VISAKHAPATNAM : The works for Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport, for which Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy laid foundation stone on May 3, will kickstart after special puja on Wednesday.
According to reliable sources, GMR chairman G Mallikarjun Rao, along with his family members will arrive on Tuesday, and will perform the puja at the site at around 7.47 am on Wednesday.
The Rs 4,592-crore international airport project, which was kept under wraps for a long time, will be developed in three phases. While in the first phase, the airport will be developed so as to serve six million passengers per annum (MPPA), the total capacity will be further increased to 18 MPPA in the next two phases.
According to sources, the rehabilitation and relief process has been fully completed and the EPC bid was finalised. Required funds were sanctioned from all participating financial institutions and banks.
The new airport will be developed on 2,203.26 acres of land with Category 1 enabled runway, which will spread across 3,800m, and a cargo terminal in 5,000sq.m. With this new infrastructure, the airport would become a growth engine for the development of the State and would play a key role in enhancing the tourism sector in the North Andhra region.
It is to be recalled that the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Civil Aviation and GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) was exchanged on March 10.