VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Civil Aviation Minister Jyothiraditya Scindia and requested them to issue site clearance and no-objection certificate (NOC) for the proposed international airport at Bhogapuram.Explaining the importance of the airport in Visakhapatnam in the development of the city as an economic and tourist hub, the CM said there is a need for operating several civil flights to support these industries and incubate further growth.
“The Visakhapatnam airport is surrounded by hills on three sides, and hence, for safety considerations, civil flights can take off and land in only one direction. This places a limit of only 10 movements per hour. While the current requirement of both civil and military flying is being met, the number of naval and civil flights are expected to increase substantially in the immediate future, in accordance with the growing security imperatives for the nation on the Eastern Seaboard and due to the efforts of the State to improve the tourism industry in Visakhapatnam,” he explained.
Citing various correspondence from the Indian Navy, he said with INS Dega transformed into a potent naval air station on the Eastern board, the proposed shifting will lead to long-term disruption and reduction of operational effectiveness on the Eastern Seaboard. “Unlike widebodies civil aircraft, the military aircraft do not have unidirectional landing/take off limitations in Visakhapatnam.”
“Thus, the airfield is intrinsically suitable for military flying operations and unsuitable for civil aircraft. Due to no topographical limitation, Bhogapuram will have a bi-directional runway and can be used by only civil aircraft, adding to efficiency in the commercial operations,” the Chief Minister explained.
The Chief Minister said due to the reasons cited by the Navy, there was no other choice but to shift the civil aviation traffic to Bhogapuram. He said already the state government has decided to develop a greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram on PPP mode, as a civil enclave of the existing Visakhapatnam airport.
Jagan said the Ministry of Civil Aviation has accorded ‘Site Clearance Approval’ for setting up the greenfield international airport at Bhogapuram in 2016 with the condition to compensate the Airport Authority of India (AAI).
“The validity of the ‘Site Clearance Approval’ has expired. Though the State government has identified the PPP Partner for implementation of the project, it has not progressed at the desired pace due to the non-issuance of ‘Site Clearance and NOC’ approval to the airport and several conditions being put up by MOCA to compensate the AAI,” he observed.
“To synergise the viewpoints of the Ministry of Defense (Navy), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA), it is suggested that MOCA provide unconditional fresh size clearance for the new greenfield international airport of Visakhapatnam at Bhogapuram, at the earliest,” he stressed.