VIZIANAGARAM: The foundation stone for the much-awaited proposed Greenfield International Airport at Bhogapuram would be laid on May 3 by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The announcement was made by Minister for Industries and Information Technology Gudivada Amarnath, who visited the lands earmarked for the proposed airport on Monday. The minister said that the airport would be constructed on an extent of 2,200 acres. Of which, 2,195 acres of land acquisition was completed. “The construction works, which will soon start soon after the foundation stone ceremony, are likely to be completed in 24-30 months,” Gudivada said.
Addressing media, the minister said, “The long cherished dream of North Andhra people will come into reality with the construction of Bhogapuram Greenfield Airport. We will complete the remaining land acquisition at the earliest.’’
The minister inspected the Trumpet road, where the district administration has been planning to conduct the foundation stone ceremony and public meet by CM. The authorities have been resolving the issues related to land acquisition as well Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) for the Project Displaced Families (PDF) on priority.
The State government had proposed the greenfield airport at Bhogapuram, which is at 40 km away from Visakhapatnam, after the bifurcation of the State in 2014. As part of this, the previous TDP government led by N Chandrababu Naidu initiated the land acquisition process. An extent of 2,700 acres was acquired and handed over to GMR Group for the construction of the airport. Though Naidu laid the foundation stone for the airport in 2019, the works could not commence due to several legal hurdles pertaining to the land acquisition.
Subsequently, the Jagan Mohan Reddy government re-initiated the land acquisition process with a new alignment for the airport on 2,200 acres. The government also finalised the tenders for GMR Visakhapatnam International Airport Limited (GVIAL) to take up the construction under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
Following which, the Vizianagaram district administration swung into action to complete the land acquisition process in order to hand over the project to GVIAL at the earliest. The district revenue officials identified as many as 376 PDF from four villages, including Rellipeta, Mudasarlapeta, Bollinkalapalem and Maradapalem, in Bhogapuram mandal.
The government paid Rs 9.20 lakh to each PDF in these four villages along with five cents of land in R&R colonies for constructruction of new houses at Gudepuvalasa and Lingalavalasa. The government also developed all necessary amenities, including roads, drainage system, electrification, community buildings, overhead water tanks, drinking water, park, Anganwadi centers, primary school, all at a cost of Rs 30 crore.
76 PDF shifted to R&R colonies
As many as 76 PDF were shifted to the new R&R colonies recently. The district administration assured them to provide job cards under MGNREGS works in the R&R colonies. MGNREGS job card holders would get employment at their new location.
With all legal, land acquisition and R&R package issues settled, the district administration has been preparing ground for the foundation stone ceremony on May 3. Special Chief Secretary to Government, Industries & Commerce R Karikal Valaven, and other officials visited the site for the proposed airport.